Pokemon Emerald: Memories
by BloopBloopBloop
Summary: Steven Stone finally returns from his long journey, only to find that the girl he loves has lost all her memories. He struggles to help her regain her memory of him, and to find a way to confess his feelings. Based on the game Pokemon Emerald.
1. Chapter 1

**Note**_**:**_** I do not own pokemon. This story is based on the game Pokemon Emerald version ONLY. If you do not know what happens in the game, then you won't understand most of this. This is a little story about what happens after you defeat Steven in Meteor Falls. The first chapter might be a bit confusing. Sonata is a made up character that replaces May…because I think May should be with Drew not Steven. xD**

**Steven's thoughts:**

_To Sonata…_

_I've decided to do a little soul-searching and train on the road. I don't plan to return home for some time. I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to take the pokeball on the desk. Inside it is a Beldum, my favorite pokemon. I'm counting on you. May our paths cross someday._

_Steven Stone_

Just how long ago did I write this letter? It's strange how I remember each and every word, despite the fact that years have gone by. Not to mention it's one of the worst letters I've ever written – each sentence is choppy and awkward. It was a funny situation actually; the original letter read "Dear Sonata" and "Love Steven Stone." But I thought about it for a few minutes and decided to erase those words and replace them with a straightforward "To Sonata" and a simple "Steven Stone" scribbled in at the end.

Love? Maybe that word is a little too strong, but I have to admit that I did, and I still do, have feelings for her. Something about her never disappearing smile and her energy caught my attention as soon as I met her in Granite Cave. And she was different from the other girls in her own way: while fashion and appearances were nothing to her, her pokemon were absolutely everything. Buy one skirt get one free? She would raise her eyebrows and instead walk in to the Pokemart next door to purchase pokefood with her little remaining money. Free makeup samples? She would take the makeup and paint her pokemon's faces for fun, and her pokemon would do the same by smudging lipstick and eyeshadow all over her cheeks.

Do I love her? Back then it was something more of a crush; that "butterflies-in-your-stomach" feeling would attack me once in a while. But now I just don't know. Many would disapprove if a relationship ever started; there was an age difference after all. She was just 15 years old when she defeated me that day in one of the most challenging battles I ever had. And to think I was 22 with over ten years of experience while Sonata barely had over a year of training.

"_Flamethrower!" she shouted, and her Charizard let out a giant rope of flames from his mouth._

"_Dodge it!" I quickly commanded, and my Metagross attempted to step aside. But her Charizard was much faster than my pokemon, and the attack struck one of Metagross' legs. My pokemon slightly stumbled onto the ground as Charizard flew closer._

"_Alright! Finish it off with Heat Wave!"_

"_Metagross!" I yelled helplessly, seeing that there was no way it could move now. Sonata's Charizard was too close for Metagross to even attempt to block it. The orange dragon roared as he prepared to attack._

_There was an intense heat and my Metagross was hit head on. I called it back into its pokeball and smiled. It was a long battle but she had defeated me, and all the while she had never stopped believing in her pokemon._

"_Great job, Charizard!" she praised as she returned him to his pokeball._

"_Wow." I said simply, seeing her grin at me proudly. "You've gotten strong."_

"_Thanks!" she replied cheerfully. "But I didn't know you were this powerful! You never told me you were a former champion either!" she accused me, poking my chest with her finger._

I could not believe I had lost the battle. But I was even more surprised that she knew where to find me. The letter I had left gave Sonata no clues to where I would be headed. She was smart enough, or maybe lucky enough, to figure out that I had gone to Meteor Falls in search of rare rocks and for training as well. I was slightly disappointed that she did not send out the Beldum I had left her. Perhaps she stored it in her PC?

After the battle we said our goodbyes. She told me she was going for the Battle Frontier and I wished her luck. I did not have a particular destination; my plan was to train harder than before. I was off on my own adventure, and so was Sonata.

It has been five years. And my feelings for her still remain.

_(.scene change.)_

"Hello?" Sonata answered, her voice overflowing with energy. She was sitting on the ground underneath the thick trees of Petalburg Woods. Her Charizard slept beside her, his wings folded over his back. The bits of scattered sunlight that shone through the leaves of the treetops reflected off of her pokenav.

"Hello? Sonata?"

She tilted her head and wondered who it could be. She quickly pulled back the pokenav and looked at the screen. "Steven Stone" appeared in bright blue letters.

"Um, Steven Stone?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's me. It's been so long, how are you?" he asked happily, glad that she remembered him. He could barely hide his excitement as he continued to ask her multiple questions. "How did you do at the Battle Frontier? Are your pokemon well? Do you—"

"Sorry, but I have no idea who you are…" Sonata quickly interrupted. "Um, were you a friend of mine? A trainer I battled on the road?"

"I'm Steven, you just said my name a few seconds ago." He replied, wondering what in the world she was thinking.

"Yeah…that's what my pokenav says but I don't know…" she bit her lip, trying to remember who he could be. "I'm sorry but I really don't recognize your name or your voice. Did you work for Team Magma or Team Aqua?"

"…what?" he asked, extremely confused at Sonata's reaction. "It's me, it's Steven. Steven Stone."

"Who's Steven Stone?"


	2. Chapter 2

"…are you feeling okay?" Steven asked, tightening his grip on his pokenav.

"I'm fine. It's just that I don't know who you are." Sonata replied briskly, still holding a confused frown. "Um…can I call you back later? I'm really sorry…it was Steven Stone, right?"

"Actually, it's fine. I'll call back later, alright?" Steven said quickly.

"Oh? Okay then…bye."

Sonata closed her pokenav and shut her eyes tightly, trying to remember who Steven Stone might have been. Unfortunately, she only ended up with a headache.

_(.scene change.)_

"Hey, Steven! How long has it been, buddy?"

"Brendan. I'm glad you remember me." Steven said with a sigh of relief.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Brendan asked. "You think I wouldn't recognize your voice?"

"No, it's just that…I called Sonata earlier and—"

"Steven, listen. Sonata was in an accident." Brendan explained abruptly, his tone changing instantly.

"When—"

"It was a little more than two years ago. She told me she was going to take a ferry back from the Battle Frontier to train a Beldum she had. The ferry was almost at Hoenn's mainland but there was some kind of accident." Brendan paused, but Steven remained silent. "The ferry and everyone in it went down. But all aboard were found and rescued."

"Then why does she not remember me?" Steven asked weakly.

"Memory loss." Brendan said simply. "She was underwater for a long time. It's a miracle that she survived."

"So…that's why she…"

"Yes. I had to reintroduce her to her life. Her family, her friends, her pokemon…but it's not enough. She traveled alone, so there's got to be many things that must have happened on her journey that she can't remember. Part of her is still blank." Brendan stopped and sighed deeply, thinking back to the difficult process he had to help Sonata through. "We tried to contact you, but you were never in the pokenav's service area...so we weren't able to reintroduce you to her."

"Oh." Steven mumbled, unable to think of anything else to say. His words froze as he repeated Brendan's explanation over in his head.

"Where are you now?" Brendan asked, hearing the calls of a few Wingulls' in the distance.

"I…just arrived at Lilycove." Steven said slowly, coming back into reality.

"Do you mind waiting there? I was thinking that Sonata and I could meet up with you." Brendan suggested. "She actually hasn't been to Lilycove at all since the accident."

"Sure." Steven replied in a dull tone. "I'll be at the Pokemon Center."

"It'll take us a good few hours by flight…probably the whole afternoon. I guess we'll reach Lilycove by late evening. Is that—"

"Don't worry. I'll wait."

Steven placed his pokenav in his pocket and started walking towards the familiar building with the red roof. The glass doors slid open and he silently took a seat in one of the brightly colored chairs. Trainers walked around with injured pokemon in their arms and worried looks on their faces. He looked up at the round clock above the counter as Nurse Joy took a sick Wurmple from a young boy.

"2:48 PM." He whispered to himself, leaning back in his chair. "Looks like I'll be waiting for a while."

His mind wandered back to Sonata, and he felt himself grow weak. She had forgotten him…what was he supposed to do now? His sole reason for returning was to tell her…

_(.scene change.)_

"Come on, Sonata! We're going to Lilycove!"

"Lilycove? Really?" she shouted, her eyes shining. "I really wanted to watch a contest!"

"Yeah, we can do that. I already told your parents and everything, so let's go."

"What? I could have told them myself! Stop treating me like a kid!" Sonata said jokingly, putting on a fake look of anger.

"You act like you're twelve." Brendan retorted with a grin as he took a pokeball out of his bag.

"So do you!" She replied, then turned to her Charizard. "Hey, wake up. Charizard!"

The dragon snorted and lazily lifted up his head.

"We're going to Lilycove, so stop snoozing." She teased as she poked his nose.

Charizard opened his mouth and let out a huge yawn as he slowly moved to his feet. He unfolded his wings and swished his heavy tail back and forth, ready for flight.

"Alright!" Sonata cheered and hopped onto her pokemon's back. "You set, Brendan?"

Brendan nodded and threw his pokeball into the air. His Flygon appeared with a cry and a flash of light. "We're heading off to Lilycove, Flygon. Ready for the trip?"

The pokemon shook his head happily and Brendan climbed on. "Full speed ahead!"

Both Charizard and Flygon lifted their wings and jumped off the ground, effortlessly soaring into the sky. The sun was glaring at them from behind the clouds, but by the time they caught sight of Lilycove, the white moon had taken its place. They landed swiftly and called back their pokemon.

"Sonata, you talked to someone named Steven today, right?" Brendan asked as they approached the Pokemon Center.

"Yeah, how did you know?" she asked curiously.

"He's a friend of yours from the past. Do you remember anything about him at all?"

"No…but he sounded really happy at first. Then I told him I didn't know who he was…"

"Oh, well, he's in the Pokemon Center right now. I don't really know how close you two were, but he was willing to wait hours for us here. So he must be a pretty good friend, right?" Brendan concluded with a reassuring smile.

"I guess." Sonata mumbled back, still wondering who in the world he could be.

"Put on a smile." Brendan said as the buildings doors opened. The two walked past a few trainers until Brendan finally saw a man with messy silver hair. "There he is, Sonata. Come on."


	3. Chapter 3

Steven spotted the two walking towards him and immediately stood up, almost knocking down his chair in the process. He nervously straightened out his usual black and purple suit. Brendan greeted him with a loud laugh and smacked him rather roughly on the back, causing him to stumble forward.

"Oops, sorry pal." Brendan apologized with a grin. "So…" he started awkwardly, glancing from Steven to Sonata.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm Sonata!" she said enthusiastically, holding out her hand. She offered him a smile and waited, but Steven simply stood there.

"Er…he already knows that." Brendan mumbled in her ear, and she let out a sheepish chuckle.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot."

"You…forgot a lot of things, didn't you?" Steven replied vaguely, still unable to believe that she had not recognized him. He met her eyes and searched for some response, any kind of reaction. But she only saw him as a stranger now; he wasn't even near being an acquaintance to her. Sonata hastily looked away from him, finding his gaze uncomfortable.

"Um, so…" Brendan said again, breaking the silence. Sonata and Steven both glanced at him. "It's late, so there's not much we can do. Why don't you guys just talk for a while?" he suggested, then paused to see if there were any objections. He took their noiseless stances as a yes and turned to head to the counter. "I'm going to heal my pokemon. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay." Sonata called. She then puffed up her cheeks and put her hands behind her back, finding the situation far from pleasant. She opened her mouth but couldn't form any words to say.

"Why don't you sit down." Steven said, his tone coming across as more of a command than an invitation.

She listened and took a seat as he placed himself next to her. Once again an awkward silence filled the air.

"Sonata, do you really not remember me?"

She looked up, shocked to hear his voice become so soft and full of…a sort of sorrow? Steven was staring directly at her, his eyebrows furrowed and his expression grim.

"I…I'm really sorry—"

"We battled together against Team Magma! We saw the disaster with Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza! We battled and you defeated me at Meteor Falls!" He listed rapidly as his voice grew louder, hoping she would interrupt him and tell him she remembered everything. But Sonata just bit her lip and shifted her eyes to the floor.

"We…we…" he mumbled slowly. "I…gave you a Beldum."

"Really? So it was you?" she said suddenly, quickly looking up and clapping her hands together excitedly. Her brightened expression was that of a Happiny. "I-I have a Beldum! Look!" She reached into her bag and picked out a particular pokeball. Her Beldum appeared in a flash of red light.

"I don't know how I got Beldum…Brendan told me someone must have given Beldum to me during my journey. It must've been you!"

"So you remember, right?" Steven asked with a faint smile, grabbing her shoulder. "You remember me?"

"I…" she responded, her words fading away. "I'm sorry." She repeated, shifting away from Steven's grip. "I only know that someone gave me Beldum…and that it must have been you…"

"Sonata, please…"

"Hey guys, there's a contest tomorrow!" Brendan's announcement shattered the heated conversation and the two trainers went back to silence. "Nurse Joy just told me that there's going to be a contest at 9:00 in the morning, so let's go watch it! It's supposed to be focused on flying types and it's going to be really big!"

"A-Alright, that sounds great!" Sonata replied with fake enthusiasm. She tried to hide the uncomfortable feeling settling in her stomach with a smile. She let her Beldum back in the pokeball and stood up. "I can't wait!"

Steven simply nodded and rose from his chair.

_(.scene change.)_

"Wow, that Beautifly is definitely going to win!" Brendan exclaimed, pointing at the majestic creature as she performed on stage.

"Beautifly is a well-known favorite of both the audience and the judges." Steven added, but he was barely paying attention to the show. He kept glancing back at Sonata during random intervals instead. She hadn't said a word to him since last night.

"And that was Emily and her Beautifly! Give them a hand!"

The crowd exploded into applause and cheers as Emily took a bow.

"Now, let's see what the judges think!"

"It was simply remarkable—"

A sudden huge explosion shook the whole stadium and screams filled the air. Brendan and Steven gazed up to the ceiling and saw a large hole.

"What's going on?" Brendan shouted, squinting to get a better look as people dashed past him and towards the exit. He spotted people in odd uniforms, each flying above on different pokemon, entering through the damaged ceiling. "Who are they? Team Magma? Team Aqua?"

"That's impossible, both organizations were permanently shut down, I saw to it!" Steven reasoned angrily. "Their uniforms are different…who are they?"

"That doesn't matter right now!" Sonata interrupted. "I don't care who they are, but they're stealing the pokemon!"

She took out a pokeball and called out her Charizard. She hurriedly got on and Charizard leapt up, heading towards the fight.

"Sonata! Wait!" Brendan shouted, releasing his own Flygon. Steven followed suit and his Skarmory appeared before him.

"Flamethrower!" Sonata commanded, and a burst of hot flames sped towards a man on a Pidgeot. The bird swerved out of the way and dove with great speed in Charizard's direction, but was thrown off by Flygon's dragonbreath.

"Flygon, now use flamethrower!" Brendan and his Flygon sped off in the opposite direction. More oddly-dressed people on flying pokemon were appearing in the stadium.

"Quick, steelwing!" Steven and his Skarmory easily knocked down a group of men on their Fearows.

"A group of brats isn't going to stop us!" a lady's voice rang out. She stood on a Dragonite and was adorned in a deep green top and skirt, with a long cloak of the same color wrapped around her shoulders. Across her chest was a large yellow and black T. "Groups 1, 2, and 3, take all the pokemon you can! Group 4, handle those idiots!" she shouted angrily, tossing her head towards Brendan, Steven, and Sonata.

A formation of five men and their Salamence completely surrounded the three.

"We have no other choice; we have to attack at one point and hope it breaks through the circle." Steven calculated. "You two use flamethrower at him," Steven directed, slightly tilting his head to the left. "After you hit him, fly out of here and go for that woman, she looks like she's in charge. I'll try and hold the rest back with Skarmory."

"Alright, let's go." Brendan told Sonata, who determinedly nodded.

The double flamethrower blew back the man and his Salamence. Flygon and Charizard took the chance and narrowly escaped from the formation. Brendan and Sonata could hear Steven shouting commands to his Skarmory as he attempted to defeat the remaining men.

"Who do you think you are?" Brendan shouted angrily as he and Sonata approached the woman and her Dragonite. "You have no right to take these pokemon!"

"Mind your own business! Team Tornado doesn't have time to deal with brats like you!" the lady growled.

"Team Tornado?" Brendan repeated in a confused tone. "Since when was there a Team Tornado?"

"Ever since Team Magma and Team Aqua messed up!" she explained proudly with a devilish grin. "Team Tornado is the only one left now, and we intend to achieve our goals, unlike those Team Magma and Team Aqua fools."

"We won't let you!" Sonata shouted, and her Charizard roared defiantly.

"And what makes you think—" the woman retorted, and then froze, her eyes widening as she recognized Sonata's face. "…so, you've come back…the boss has been searching for years."

"S-Searching for me?"

"That's right. You were the one who put a stop to that incident with Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza. Which logically means…," the woman smirked, "you are the only one who can call Rayquaza back out."

"…what?" Sonata responded pathetically, unable to remember the occurrence. Brendan had explained the battle between the three legendaries, but she had never figured out exactly how she had been involved.

"We're retreating! Hurry up!" the woman called out. "Forget the pokemon for now! Return to the base, all of you!"

The mass of green cloaked men and women suddenly began to fly out of the stadium. The woman remained in position on her Dragonite, however, and returned her eyes to Sonata. "You'll be coming with me."


	4. Chapter 4

"No she won't!" Brendan shouted as Flygon hurled towards Dragonite at top speed.

The two pokemon clashed in the air, throwing each other back in opposite directions. While the woman had maintained her balance on her Dragonite perfectly, Brendan had almost fallen off from the force.

"Okay, that wasn't the best idea…" he muttered, struggling to get a better grip around his Flygon's neck. "Fine then, flamethrower!"

"Is that all you've got?" she asked mockingly as Dragonite quickly moved off to the side causing the stream of fire to miss and hit the nearby marble wall instead. "I don't have time for this. Out of my way, kid!"

Brendan and his Flygon braced themselves for a direct attack, but the woman and her Dragonite breezed past them and headed towards Sonata. The woman smirked, expecting the capture of a mere girl to be simple. But without a moment of hesitation, Sonata commanded her Charizard to fly towards the two as well.

"Get as close as possible to them." She whispered, while the woman laughed loudly.

"You think you're Charizard has more physical strength than my Dragonite?" The two pokemon were mere seconds away from colliding. "If that's what you want, come at me—" her words were cut off when she suddenly saw Sonata and her Charizard change course. "What are you—?"

With a swift burst of speed, Charizard slammed into Dragonite from under, startling her and causing her to slip off. Dragonite recovered quickly and managed to catch his owner before she reached the floor.

"You're going to get it now!" she roared, but was immediately thrown aback by Skarmory's flash cannon. While Dragonite had once again managed to avoid the attack, the woman was becoming more and more frustrated. Her eyes narrowed as she realized taking Sonata was going to pose a challenge with three trainers around. "…I'll be back." She muttered bitterly.

"Hold it!" Brendan called, but she had already flown through the ceiling. They watched as she disappeared from view.

"Good job, Charizard." Sonata praised as they landed.

"You executed aerial ace's timing very well." Steven said to her, returning his Skarmory to its pokeball. "I wouldn't have expected you to go with that move in that situation."

"Oh, thanks." She replied with a grin, and then turned to Brendan and his Flygon. "That was pretty reckless." She joked while he fumed.

"We totally could have taken her!" he argued as Flygon shifted his wings defiantly. Brendan called Flygon back and frowned. "What was she talking about anyway?"

"I don't know." Sonata replied. "She was saying something about the incident with Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza. But I still don't remember ever seeing those pokemon."

"They were causing a lot of weather trouble, to say the least." Steven explained shortly. "Back in Hoenn, you were the one who put a stop to that disaster."

"That sounds cool." She imagined herself in a hero's outfit, sporting a dramatic pose with the sun shining brightly behind her. "I wish I could remember."

_(.scene change.)_

"That was foolish of you, Hersilia; calling back all your forces, and then challenging the remaining three alone."

A tall man approached the woman and her Dragonite. He was also wearing the same green uniform but with a few differences in design. His cape was longer and more elaborately designed, and heavy black boots caused his footsteps to sound like earthquakes. Hersilia bowed in apology but remained viligant.

"I'm sorry sir. But it was just three inexperienced trainers. I know I can defeat them all if you would just give me another chance."

"Inexperienced?" he repeated, his tone dropping. "Sonata Sade and Steven Stone were both former champions of Hoenn. And while I do not know who the boy with the Flygon may have been, you did not manage to actually defeat him, Hersilia."

"I understand. I'm sorry sir." She repeated, and then recalled Sonata's strange reaction. "…sir, the girl seemed confused when I told her about Rayquaza. Are you sure she's the one that knows Rayquaza's location?"

"Really now? That is strange…" He slowly frowned and pondered for a moment. "Just keep an eye on her for now. I'll tell you when to attack next."

"Yes sir."

_(.scene change.)_

"What do you guys wanna do now?" Brendan asked lazily. "This is kinda boring, you know?"

They had all moved back to the pokemon center after the contest invasion incident. Sonata idly scratched her nose as Steven intensely tried to think of something to say that would possibly help her recall her memories of him. Brendan stared at his motionless friends and sighed.

"We can go visit the pokemon trainer fan club building. Or we can go to the Lilycove museum. How about shopping at the department store? Maybe walking along the shore?" Brendan listed one by one, joggling his head for more available activities in Lilycove City.

"Actually, can we go to Rustboro City?" Steven asked suddenly. "I've been thinking about visiting Devon Corporation, and…" he trailed off, glancing at Sonata. Rustboro was near Meteor Falls, the area where the two had battled last. He hoped the cave would have some effect on her.

"Oh, I know the president of Devon. When Brendan was reintroducing me to him, he was really nice. Mr. Stone's really generous too, he gave me my pokenav when I first started my journey! And…" Sonata finally made the connection in her head and gasped dramatically. "Steven Stone!" she shouted simply, pointing at the silver-haired man next to her.

"He's my father. I guess you forgot."

Brendan laughed as he checked his pokenav. "Traveling to Rustboro by flight is going to take the whole evening, just like when we flew over to Lilycove from Petalburg. We better leave now, before it gets dark."

They stepped out of the pokemon center as Nurse Joy waved them goodbye.

"So he's your dad! No wonder your last name was sort of familiar!" Sonata remarked excitedly, practically jumping between Steven and Brendan. "You have the exact same hair color! Wait wait wait!"

She tilted her head to the side with a perplexed expression; then her face suddenly lit up with realization. "When Mr. Stone gave me my pokenav, he gave me a letter too! And…"

Steven stared at her desperately, waiting for Sonata to exclaim how she recalled delivering the envelope to him at Dewford.

"…and…uh…" she mumbled, ruffling the back of her head, "…eh…what did I do with that anyway? I don't remember reading it…"

"You didn't read it. You gave the letter to me. I guess you forgot that too." Steven sighed with disappointment as Brendan burst into laughter once more.

"Hm…really?" Sonata shrugged, returning from confusion to a broad grin. "Mr. Stone has a lot of rocks and stuff in his office!" she continued with unaffected enthusiasm. "Some of them are really beautiful. Oh, does that mean you like rocks too? I bet you have a 'stone' in your house, right?"

She giggled at her awful pun as Brendan felt himself die a little on the inside. He looked at Steven, who actually held a small smile on his lips. Sonata skipped further ahead as Brendan strayed back a few steps.

"Hey Steven, are you serious? That was funny to you?" Brendan whispered so Sonata wouldn't hear him bash her idea of humor. But she was preoccupied with letting out her Charizard for the travel.

"That was a horrible joke." Steven replied honestly, watching Brendan search through his bag for Flygon's pokeball. "…but it's nice to see her like this."

"Like what? Like making really bad jokes?" Brendan questioned with a puzzled look.

"No…like her old self again."


	5. Chapter 5

"It looks like they're headed for Rustboro now." a young man informed Hersilia.

"Contact the team over at Rustboro, then. We need to capture her as soon as possible." Hersilia replied abruptly as she began to walk away.

"Where are you going now?" he asked, watching Hersilia release her Dragonite.

"Rustboro, where else? Tell the boss I'll return with Sonata this time."

_(.scene change.)_

"I thought Devon Corporation was that way." Brendan said, pointing behind the group. The three trainers had finally hit ground after hours of flight and had started walking.

"It is." Steven replied simply as he continued to head in the opposite direction.

"Then why are we…?" Brendan began in utter confusion.

"I actually wanted to visit Meteor Falls before going to the company." Steven explained shortly. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, no problem. But why Meteor Falls?"

"Just to, well…" Steven glanced at Sonata, who was kicking at a rock on the ground from boredom. "…there are rocks there. You know, uh, rare ones."

"Right, you're a rock maniac!" Brendan shouted, believing Steven's excuse instantly. "We should hurry though; it's already late and all…"

"Don't worry, it won't take too long."

Meteor falls was just another stone cave from the surface, but the inside was strangely beautiful compared to others. The walls and ground were an unusual shade of deep purple with sparkling specks of sand. Jagged, dripping stones lined the high ceilings, and the entrance to the wide path was illuminated by the moonlight from outside, creating a rather mystic atmosphere. The muffled sound of the waterfall could be heard from the depths.

"Follow me and stay close. It's easy to get lost here." Steven told the two as he traveled further inside.

The three silently walked on, stumbling over the rough, twisting uphill trail in the dark. The minutes dragged on and eventually an hour had passed. Brendan and Sonata were having trouble keeping up with Steven, who was more than used to scaling towering mountains.

"Steven, can we stop and rest?" Brendan wheezed with his forehead drenched in sweat.

"What are we looking for anyway?" Sonata asked between rapid breathes. She was lagging a couple feet behind the boys. "Where are the rare rocks you were talking about?"

"I'm sorry…but we're here now." Steven announced as they entered into a different part of the cave.

"Where exactly are we?" Brendan asked as he surveyed the area. "This place doesn't look any different from the rest of the cave…"

"It really isn't, but…" Steven turned and stepped over to Sonata. "…do you remember?"

"Remember what?" Sonata asked nervously, seeing that Steven had turned serious again.

"Listen." Steven said, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "Before I left, we had our last battle here. I told you I was the former champion, and you challenged me without hesitation. You ended up defeating my Metagross with your Charizard."

"…I'm sorry." Sonata repeated bitterly, frustrated at herself for not being able to jog her memory. "I really don't—"

"Steven." Brendan interrupted, stepping between the two and causing Steven to break his contact with Sonata. "I know how you feel, but Sonata can't recall anything from the past. If she doesn't remember something, then just leave it at that. This isn't the first time you tried to make her to remember you."

"I have to try, Brendan." Steven replied with a slight hint of anger in his voice. "…you don't know how important she is to me."

"From what I've heard, you two were just brief partners in taking down Team Magma and Team Aqua. Just how important is she to you?" Brendan demanded with a stern look.

"You don't need to know." Steven muttered resentfully. "I just…need her to remember me. She has to."

"You can't force that on her!" Brendan argued, but Sonata quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

Brendan frowned at Sonata's touch as Steven attempted to speak once more.

"Sonata, I—"

"Battle me," she interrupted suddenly, holding up a pokeball. "You said this was where we last battled, right? So a similar pokemon battle might help me remember something…you know?"

"Sonata—"

"Battle me." She repeated with a defiant expression.

Steven opened his mouth, and then paused. Brendan crossed his arms and waited alongside Sonata. After a few seconds, Steven reluctantly took out his own pokeball and silently released his Metagross. The giant mass of steel slowly moved forward.

Sonata's face changed into a wide smile as she tossed her pokeball into the air. Her Charizard landed with a deafening roar and a swish of his tail.

"Go ahead." Steven offered her the first move and thought back to the original fight. He distinctly remembered her starting off with dragon claw, which he managed to block with a meteor mash. But she had automatically switched to a close-range flamethrower without a moment's hesitation.

"Use dragon claw!" she commanded, and Charizard lunged at his Metagross.

"Meteor mash!" Steven said quickly. The two pokemon clashed in the exact same way as before, and he assumed that Sonata would use similar moves from the last battle. Even though the following flamethrower would be at an extremely close-range, Steven was prepared to employ light screen to block it this time.

"Charizard, smokescreen!"

"Light scr—wait, what?" Steven gasped as thick black smog covered the area in an instant. He could only see his Metagross shuffling around in the battlefield as it struggled to catch sight of the opponent.

"Now, flamethrower!" Sonata's voice rang out somewhere in the distance. A line of hot flames erupted from the smokescreen and hit Metagross from the side. But the force of the surprise attack was not enough to throw off the heavy pokemon's balance, at least not yet.

"Looks like it'll be different this time…" Steven muttered to himself as the smokescreen began to rapidly thin out. "…let's see…Charizard's right over there! Attack with psychic!"

A faint blue light surrounded the dragon, preventing him from any real movement. Charizard struggled in mid-air, but was thrown back into the wall of rocks instantly. He roared as he forced himself back onto his feet and slightly shook his head. The flames from his tail blazed furiously as he shifted towards Metagross.

"Charizard, get closer and use—"

The girl's command was cut off by a sudden blast of energy from outside that ripped into the ceiling, causing large rocks to hurdle at the battlefield. While the three trainers were out of harm's way, both Charizard and Metagross were trapped between the fallen boulders, and their struggling only caused more movement of the heavy stones. Sonata and Steven couldn't reach them with their pokeballs, for the red ray of light was detoured by the solid objects in its path. From the now open cave ceiling, a familiar Dragonite flew into sight, carrying Hersilia on the back.

"You again!" Brendan shouted in annoyance, which only caused the woman to smirk in response.

"Took me a while to find all you brats." She spat angrily. "I actually searched through the tunnels before deciding to blow up parts of the mountain."

"What do you want?" Brendan demanded, already taking out a pokeball from his pocket.

"Put that away, kid. I'm not after you." Hersilia muttered, changing her gaze to Sonata instead. "I'm here for the girl, just like last time. We need to know where to find Rayquaza."

"And why is that?" Steven asked curiously, pausing from pushing the rocks aside so he could reach his Metagross. "Team Aqua wanted more water, and Team Magma wanted more land, both for their own greedy purposes. What could your team possibly want with Rayquaza?"

"Rayquaza can whip up wind disasters in an instant." Hersilia stated simply, her smirk transforming into a malevolent grin. "Team Tornado will harness that power and tear apart the obstacles on both land and water. Then we will be free to recreate all of Hoenn as we wish."

"That's ridiculous!" Brendan exclaimed in shock, tightening his grip around the pokeball in his hand. "You're team is planning the exact same thing as Team Aqua and Team Magma, except with wind?"

"Once Rayquaza is found, our plan will indefinitely succeed." Hersilia responded, crossing her arms over her chest. "So girl, come with me quietly, or I'll blast both the Charizard and the Metagross into the ground."


	6. Chapter 6

"Flygon, flamethrower!" Brendan commanded, holding out his pokeball. Flygon appeared with flames already bursting towards the enemy.

Hersilia's Dragonite swiftly moved off to the side, dodging the fire attack with ease.

"Your attacks won't work this time," she stated with a twisted smile. "Give up now. Or do you really want a battle in a situation like this?"

"Steven, get Sonata out of here," Brendan whispered. "This woman is after her, so we need to make sure Sonata doesn't get captured."

Steven nodded, while Sonata reluctantly nodded as well. The two hastily began to push the remaining rocks out of the way in order to free their pokemon before making their getaway. Hersilia's expression changed to annoyance as she realized she had no choice but to attack. It would definitely be fun to blast the two men, but she also had to make sure Sonata wouldn't get injured too badly, or her boss would be more than furious. The location of Rayquaza was only known by this one girl, so it was vital that she be brought back to headquarters alive and well.

"Running away, are we?" Hersilia sneered, tossing back her long black hair. "Dragonite, hyper beam at that Flygon!"

"Two can play at that game! Flygon!" Brendan shouted. His Flygon let loose the same attack and the two energy blasts collided right outside the slowly crumbling ceiling of the cave.

"Make sure your attacks don't clash in here!" Steven called back as he continued to heave boulders aside. "If anymore of these rocks fall in the area, we'll be trapped!"

"Got it!" Brendan replied, jumping onto his pokemon's back. Flygon immediately took off, his translucent wings flapping so quickly that it appeared as a greenish-blur. They flew through the hole and into the sky where Hersilia was waiting.

"Big mistake, now you're finished!" she roared as Brendan and Flygon emerged before her. "You're right where I want you, kid! Fire blast!"

"Flygon! You know what to do!"

Flygon once again produced the same attack and the sky turned red from the waves of intense flames in the air. Both pokemon retreated back a few feet but remained ready to battle. Hersilia growled in annoyance; the boy had copied her move a second time! She silently cursed, realizing that Flygon and Dragonite could learn and use similar moves. But she wasn't going to let the weakest of the three trainers get the best of her. He didn't even look close to being a champion!

"Let's see if your little Flygon's attacks can withstand my Dragonite's! Dragon pulse!"

"There! We can reach them with the pokeballs now!" Steven grunted as he threw aside the large rock in his dusty hands.

"You're right! Charizard, return!" Sonata pulled out the pokeball and the orange lizard vanished. Steven followed suit and glanced towards the patch of sky.

"We have to go help Brendan!" Sonata urged, already running towards the broken ceiling of the cave. Bright lights and sounds of beams clashing could be seen and heard.

"No!" Steven took a hold of her arm and pulled her back. "We have to get you out of here."

"We can't leave Brendan behind!" she argued, struggling to free herself from his grip. "I won't leave without him!"

"Look Sonata, Team Tornado is after you." Steven reasoned, firmly holding her in place. "If that woman manages to get you—"

"She's here alone, there was nobody else, we can take her!" she pleaded hurriedly as the shouting between Brendan and Hersilia outside got louder. Steven ignored her words and began to drag her in the opposite direction. "Steven, I'm not going to just runaway like some helpless little girl! Let go of me, we have to help him!"

"Sonata…" Steven sighed, loosening his hold slightly. Sonata instantly scrambled to the scene of the battle, a pokeball ready in her hand.

"Pidgeot, let's go!" The giant bird came into view, his strong wings spread wide.

Sonata gripped her pokemon's feathers and the two were off into the fight. Steven was directly behind her, his arms clutching his Skarmory's metallic neck. But instead of explosions and tremors, only Brendan's grinning face and his Flygon greeted the two. Hersilia and her Dragonite were nowhere to be seen, although the effects of the attacks on the landscape were quite obvious. Cracks and crumbles littered the once solid mountain walls. While the area remained intact, it was not quite the same.

"Where is she?" Sonata exclaimed as Brendan's smile grew even bigger.

"Flygon and I totally showed them!" he explained simply, Flygon letting out sounds of victory beside him. "They ran off with their tails between their legs!"

"You defeated her? Alone?" Sonata asked in disbelief, stepping down from her Pidgeot. Steven remained silent, but he too was finding it hard to conceive.

"Aw, come on! I may not be a super champion like you, and I may not be a former-champion like Steven, but Flygon and I are still powerful!"

"Seriously?" she asked with her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed. "Really?"

"Sonata, I'm a trainer too you know, and I—"

But Brendan was cut off by a force that almost caused him to fall flat on his back. Sonata had wrapped her arms around his shoulders rather abruptly and tightly, causing him to lose his breath. Steven flinched slightly and found the scene irked him a bit.

"Wow! No way! You're the best!" Sonata cheered in her loudest voice. "Who knew you had that kind of skill in you?"

"I almost beat you that last time we battled a few weeks ago!" Brendan retorted with a chuckle as Sonata stepped back and slapped him on the back.

"Oh, I remember! But you got lucky!" she joked, her face breaking into her brightest smile. "You're Flygon is still second to my Pidgeot!" she added, conjuring up the one-on-one battle in her mind. Her Pidgeot ruffled his feathers and stood proudly next to her.

"Alright, let's start moving." Steven interrupted, slightly irritated.

Steven knew what was bothering him. Sonata had recalled her battle with Brendan, but still couldn't remember anything at all about him. There was an obvious time difference of course, not to mention that the battle between Flygon and Pidgeot took place after the accident that caused Sonata to lose her memory. Still, he couldn't help but sense a little frustration, or perhaps, jealousy. Whenever a conversation started with Brendan, Sonata returned to her old, true self: cracking jokes and speaking with endless joy and energy. But there was always an air of awkwardness between her and Steven, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of it. He felt perfectly fine with her around, even a little excited, but she was always unable to freely connect with him like she did with Brendan.

"You're right, it looks like it's about to rain soon." Brendan returned his Flygon and pointed at the gray clouds that loomed overhead.

The three decided to fly down instead of figuring out their way through the layers of scattered rocks in the tunnel they had explored through. They reached level ground in a matter of minutes and continued towards Rustboro, their feet aching and their throats dry. By the time they had entered the city and caught sight of the pokemon center, it had suddenly started to pour, bringing raindrops the size of small pebbles and completely drenching them in just a few seconds. They took seats on a uncomfortable but large couch near the PC. As Sonata left the group to quickly wash up in the center's bathroom, Steven turned to Brendan and cleared his throat.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" Brendan asked, attempting to dry his hair with a fuzzy pink towel provided by Nurse Joy.

"It's about Sonata," Steven began, taking a quick look at the hallway that led to the bathroom to make sure she wasn't about to drop in. "I need her to remember me."

"Steven—"

"I have a request. Let me travel with her." He begged, his tone carrying a hint of desperation.

"We've been traveling—"

"Alone. Just me and her."

"…I don't think that's the best idea. Team Tornado, or whatever they're called, is probably going to continue to try and capture her." Brendan mumbled after a second of thought. "I was actually thinking of resting in Rustboro for a while, until we fully figure out what those weirdoes are planning and how to get rid of them."

"Please." Steven replied quietly, not bothering to try and convince Brendan with more of his ramblings.

"Sometimes you're just as stubborn as she is." Brendan sighed and hung the towel around his neck. "Well, I'm not really for it, but go ahead and ask Sonata herself."


	7. Chapter 7

"Ugh, I really hate getting wet." Sonata mumbled as she walked out of the bathroom with a towel hanging loosely from her head. She had attempted to form those elegant looking towel wraps around her hair but failed miserably. She grabbed it and hung it over her shoulder instead as she approached Brendan and Steven.

"You don't really look any drier." Brendan commented with a chuckle, noticing her hair was still messy and flat. Sonata took her useless towel and threw it over Brendan's face.

"Well, now you look much more handsome than before." Sonata replied with a grin as Brendan tossed the pink rag back at her.

"Hey! That means I was kind of good-looking before, right?" Brendan said, noticing the way Sonata had worded her statement.

"What? No way!" she shouted, realizing her mistake. "I meant _now you look handsome_. Happy?"

"Oh? I look handsome now?" Brendan asked with raised eyebrows, pointing to his bare face. "Why, thank you, dear lady!"

"Brendan!" Sonata took her towel and used it to slap him across the face. "You wish!"

The two burst out laughing as they started a towel fight. Steven sat between them, trying to think of a way to ask Sonata to join him for a few days of travel. But he just couldn't come up with a question that wouldn't make it sound awkward or strange. He was abruptly awakened from his thoughts when his vision suddenly become pink and his cheek began to sting.

"Sorry!" Sonata said hurriedly as Brendan laughed louder than ever. She removed the towel and giggled nervously. "Eh he…is your face alright?"

"It's fine." Steven paused for a moment, biting his lower lip, and then breathed in deeply. "…I know it's a strange request, but would you like to travel together for a while?"

"Hm? Where are we all going next?" she asked curiously, folding the rag as neatly as she could and handing it to a Chansey who happened to be strolling by with a small cart.

"He means just the two of you." Brendan answered as he too handed over his towel.

"Oh…" she started, her voice trailing off uncertainly.

"I personally don't think it's the best idea." Brendan said, seeing that Sonata was silent. "Team Tornado is still after you. I don't think you should go anywhere until they're taken care of." He shifted his glance to Steven, who remained wordless. He was staring intently at Sonata, his silver-blue eyes unblinking.

"…Is this because I still can't remember you?" Sonata asked finally.

"Yes." Steven sighed, putting his hands together. "You're probably sick of hearing the same thing over and over again, but you have to remember me, Sonata. It's extremely important that you do."

"Why?" she replied sternly, her voice not angry but still demanding. "Why do I have to remember you? Who are you to me, exactly?"

"You'll realize on your own. I'm hoping you will." Steven gently touched her wrist, being careful not to wrap his hand around her defiantly but to simply make contact as he brushed his fingers against her skin. "Please."

She pulled her hand away, still finding Steven uncomfortable. If Brendan were coming along his request wouldn't be too much of a problem. But the thought of being alone with someone she just didn't know at all was unnerving, to say the very least. She glanced at Brendan, who shrugged in response and nodded his head towards her, wordlessly telling Sonata it was completely up to her. She thought furiously for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh of her own.

"I'll go." She decided with a troubled smile. "As for Team Tornado, I think Steven and I can handle them. I am the former champion you know!" she added with a weak chuckle, still attempting to lighten up the situation with her bubbly-self.

"Thank you." Steven said with a soft, almost childish smile, unable to hide his blooming happiness at her acceptance. He was sure she would flat-out refuse to such a sudden, crazy idea. She noticed his smile and felt her cheeks grow warm; she had never seen him smile in that way before. Sonata quickly looked up at the ceiling, focusing on the dim lights overhead instead. Why was she blushing for such a stupid reason?

"Just be careful, alright?" Brendan told Sonata, his expression serious for once. "Team Tornado may be more dangerous than Team Magma and Team Aqua were." He tilted his head up and squinted. "What in the world are you looking at?"

"Nothing!" she shouted in surprise, pasting a huge grin on her face. "So are we going to sleep here tonight?" she asked, changing the subject with a valid question.

"Nope!" Brendan said excitedly, paying no attention to Sonata's hasty response. "We're staying at Mr. Stone's place!"

"I called my father while you were drying yourself off. I need to have a talk with him, and he offered to let us all stay for the night as well." Steven explained, still holding the same smile as he rose from his seat on the couch. "He's probably waiting for us, so we should get going."

_(.scene change.)_

"Mr. Stone's house was huge!" Sonata said joyfully as the three walked along Rustboro's main pathway. "And there were so many more rocks and stuff there! The one in a glass case that was a deep orange-red was really pretty."

"That was a fire stone." Steven informed her. "A type of fire stone, actually. That one happened to be buried almost ten-thousand feet underground. Most fire stones are usually much more yellow in color, which is probably why you didn't recognize it."

"Man, Steven, you really are a rock maniac." Brendan joked as he came to a halt. They had reached the outskirts of the city. "So where are you planning on heading?"

"Anywhere." Steven replied confidently but with a slight shrug.

"Anywhere?" Brendan asked in confusion.

"Anywhere?" Sonata repeated in disbelief.

"I don't have a set course, and I don't plan to create one." He explained calmly. "I'll think of things along the way, and hopefully Sonata will start to regain some memories. It sounds absurd, but I think it'd be better off this way."

"So you're just going to wing it then?" Brendan grinned, nodding to show his approval. "An adventure is a lot more fun with surprises, I guess. Sonata and I never really planned out anything either when we first started our Pokemon journey years ago." He gave Sonata a quick hug, which she enthusiastically returned, and then clapped Steven on the shoulder. "Make sure she stays safe, alright?" he whispered after taking a step closer to Steven, so that Sonata wouldn't hear. "She's always acting so tough, but with Team Tornado and all…"

Brendan ruffled Sonata's hair, dodged a punch from her, and sent out his Flygon. "I'm heading back to Littleroot, so call me if anything's up!" he shouted as he pointed to the pokenav on his belt. And then he was off, both him and his Flygon now a mere dot in the distance.

"So," Steven started, turning back to Sonata. "I would like to see all the Pokemon with you right now, if you don't mind."

"Hm? Oh, sure." She responded, a little baffled as to his inquiry but willing to listen. Her Charizard and Pidgeot appeared, followed by Sceptile, her trusty starter, Pelipper, and Manectric. Last but not least was the Beldum from Steven, who hovered closely next to Sonata.

"You've been training with the same five then, I see." Steven said aloud, taking note of each Pokemon standing before him. "I'm glad you have Beldum with you too. I was wondering if you would take Beldum as the final Pokemon in your team when I first decided to give it to you."

"Beldum's great!" Sonata told him, and the Pokemon happily spun around her in response. "I've had Beldum since…well…I don't remember exactly when but probably when you gave it to me, right? You did say you were the one who gave me Beldum…right?" she said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "We haven't actually gotten a chance to train yet, but I know Beldum's going to be the strongest one out there!"

Steven recalled Brendan telling him over the pokenav how Sonata had gotten into the accident right before being able to train with her Beldum. He watched as the Pokemon firmly remained by her side and didn't wander around. His heart swelled as he realized that Sonata had given the Pokemon loving care despite not remembering how she had obtained it.

"Beldum seems to like you, I'm happy to see that I made the right decision in giving it to you." Steven replied as he took out a pokeball. "But right now…how about finishing that battle we started in Meteor Falls?" His Metagross materialized in front of him and landed with a giant thud, shaking the ground with its weight.

"You're on!" Sonata replied without faltering, and Charizard immediately moved forward, stretching his wings in preparation.

_She has the same Pokemon she used in our last battle five years ago_, Steven thought intently as Metagross shifted ahead and got into position. _Maybe this battle will help bring some of her memory back…_


	8. Chapter 8

"Ladies first." He offered.

"Flamethrower!" Sonata shouted, not wasting a split second. Her pokemon jumped forward and immediately released a stream of burning flames. Despite his size, Charizard was extremely fast.

"Hang in there!" Steven told his Metagross, who had no choice but to take the attack head on. Speed was its weakest point, so there was no way it could have avoided the sudden fire move. "Try to break through with a meteor mash!"

"Get out of there! Into the sky!" she commanded as Metagross moved towards Charizard, its arm outstretched and ready to strike. Charizard abruptly stopped its flames and took position in the air.

"That won't stop us! Flash cannon!" Metagross hastily let loose a bright ball of energy in Charizard's direction.

"…flash cannon?" Sonata repeated, tilting her head to the side. Charizard looked back at his trainer in confusion, and then received the attack full blast, barely managing to remain above ground. "That's weird…"

"Quick, zen headbutt while he's down!" Steven ordered. He watched as Metagross slammed into Charizard, who roared helplessly. Steven intently listened for Sonata's counter-attack but heard only silence. "Hey, are you alright?" he called out, seeing that she was staring at the ground, her lips curled into a frown.

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" she responded, shaking her head. "It's just that…why did you use flash cannon?"

"What do you mean?" Steven said, calling off his Metagross. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? We can battle later on."

"I don't know. But I feel like you're not supposed to use that kind of move…" she mumbled under her breath, tapping a finger against her chin. "Flash cannon…hm…it just doesn't work."

"Sonata…" Steven whispered her name worriedly, now beside her as she continued to think.

"I don't know why but…" she looked up at his face and studied him with narrowed eyes. "…your Metagross isn't supposed to use flash cannon. It's not."

"I don't understand what you're—" Steven paused, a sudden realization striking his mind. "That's right, I recently taught flash cannon to Metagross using a TM. I never used the attack against you while we were at Meteor Falls years ago."

"So it didn't know flash cannon before, right?" Sonata stated with a nod. "That's why it was odd."

"Wait, you remember then? The last battle we had before I left Hoenn?" Steven asked quickly.

"No…but I feel like Metagross wasn't supposed to know flash cannon." She repeated with a shrug. "It's weird, I've seen other Metagross use it on television and in a few other trainer battles. But your Metagross isn't supposed to…shouldn't know it." She stated with an awkward, yet rather firm tone.

"You may not remember the details of our battle, but this is a start." Steven told her with a bright smile as she grinned sheepishly. "You don't know how happy this makes me, Sonata. I knew we would be able to bring parts of your memory back somehow."

"I'm sorry I can't remember more." She bit her lower lip and sighed. "I'm trying, though, I really am. I'll remember something eventually!" she said enthusiastically, her expression changing into a confident one.

He chuckled at her spontaneous certainty. "Come on, let's just go for a walk. I'd like to reintroduce myself, if I may."

"Okay, sounds good!" She skipped over to her Charizard, who was grumpily laying on the floor, his tail swishing back and forth in frustration. Sonata quickly apologized, and after sending him back into his pokeball, returned to Steven's side. "So, where are we going?"

"There's a flower shop if we walk down route 104, I recall." He replied. "But you don't like flowers all that much, do you?"

"Eh, not really. I don't really like things that most girls do, I guess. How did you know I don't like flowers?" she questioned curiously.

"We were good friends back then." Steven explained succinctly. "I know a lot about you."

"Well, that's not creepy at all!" she joked, eyeing him suspiciously. "This is going to be an interesting walk."

"Come on, we'll just stroll through Rustboro while we have a chat."

The two passed by the towering buildings in the town as they followed the main path. Steven tried to tell her as much as he could, vividly explaining their countless run-ins with Team Magma and Team Aqua. He even presented facts that she had not known before, such as his reasons for settling in Mossdeep rather than Rustboro, and stories from his childhood. Sonata steadily listened, taking in every word he uttered. Eventually he ran out of interesting tales, and she picked up where he left off, speaking of her fun times with Brendan and the little she recalled from before the ferry accident.

"How long have you known Brendan?"

"Ever since I moved to Littleroot! We both started our journeys together. My mom told me about it." She answered.

"You two seem very close." Steven mentioned casually with a slight cough.

"We're best friends!" Sonata shouted childishly with a large grin. "He's the best! He always knows how to cheer me up."

"Does he?" Steven replied, averting his eyes.

"Hey, what's with the face you're making?" she asked suddenly, catching a glimpse of his slightly annoyed expression. "Are you tired already? We only circled Rustboro like, 5 times so far."

"You're as energetic as ever." He replied with a frustrated sigh. "No, I'm not tired, Sonata. It's just that I wish we could repair our bond, like you did with Brendan."

"But we are!" she stated, pulling on his arm in protest. "Now I know lots of things about you, and you know a lot about me too. We're definitely bonding!"

"A-are we?" Steven stuttered, looking down at her. Her sudden closeness was unexpected, but at the same time he wasn't doing anything to stop her advancement.

"For sure! You know, I haven't told you this, but…" she let go of his arm and looked up into the sky, which was now a warm mix of reds and oranges.

"…but what?" he asked tentatively as she continued to gaze into the distance.

"The thing is…" she shifted just a bit closer and Steven could feel his heart skip a beat. Why was she so hesitant? Was she about to confess something? Could it be that she had unknowingly developed feelings for him, despite being unable to remember their times together?

"Yes?" he urged her on, struggling to maintain his composure.

"…are we really friends?" she asked slowly in a small voice.

"Well…I…" he muttered, losing his ability to form coherent sentences. _We could be more than friends…_ He shook his head of such thoughts, startled at the fact that he would become so nonsensical in such a situation. And yet…he glanced down at her for a split second and couldn't help but think that the possibility of her confessing was almost at a hundred percent. Why else would she be acting this way? Surely she was going to tell him that she had at least developed a little crush on him. And if she did…no, _when_ she did, perhaps they could head over to that flower shop on route 104 after all. Even if she disliked flowers, it wouldn't hurt to buy her some roses, or something of the sort. All the couples did such things, didn't they? His thoughts ran wild for a few seconds before her voice snapped him back to reality.

"…I'm hungry, and I don't really have that much money on me right now, so I was wondering if I could borrow some, you know, since we're friends and all, right?" she requested rapidly, smiling up at him. "I'll pay you back, I promise! Please?"

"H-huh?" he mumbled as his short fantasy collapsed in his mind.

"Rustboro's kind of expensive, that's why I'm asking if I can borrow a little bit." she begged, clapping her hands together. "Unless you know a place here that's cheap. Maybe your father knows an affordable place to grab a bite?"

"So…you're hungry?" he asked, dumbfounded at the turn of events.

"Yeah! Aren't you? We've been patrolling this place for the whole day!"

"I know a good restaurant." He said after a few moments of thought. "It's just a few blocks from where we are."

"Restaurants are way too expensive though!" she stated with a slight frown.

"I'll pay for everything, so don't worry about—"

"No way! We passed by some pizza shop a while ago, I think…" Sonata said to herself, trying to recall which direction it was in.

"Pizza? Are you sure you don't want—"

"I remember now! It's that way!" She pointed towards the left. "It's definitely going to be a lot cheaper than those fancy restaurants, but I still don't think I'll have enough." She mentioned with a weak chuckle.

"Lead the way." He responded, reassuring her with a smile.

"Alright, thanks! Follow me!"

She sped on forward and he followed behind slowly. Steven couldn't help but feel plain stupid for imagining such a scenario mere moments ago. But perhaps, if he spent lots of time with her, they would become close enough for him to gain enough confidence to confess himself. Perhaps. But for now, a friendly, twelve-dollar pizza pie dinner with a backdrop of the setting sun was as intimate as it was going to get.


	9. Chapter 9

"That was a pretty good lunch!" Sonata exclaimed as she rubbed her stomach in an exaggerated manner.

The table the two were seated at was located right outside the pizzeria. Townspeople and visitors walked by with sounds of laughter as light breezes played throughout the city. The sun was still high in the sky and the roads were as busy as ever. Steven and Sonata had somehow managed to finish the whole pie, leaving only crumbs and dirty napkins behind. Steven's plate had a few leftover crusts, while Sonata's plate had bits of cheese.

"Did you _take_ off the cheese?" Steven inquired as he stared at her dish.

"Hm? Oh, well, after my third slice, I got tired of all that cheesy flavor. So I took some of the cheese off, you know?" She replied matter-of-factly.

"But…it's pizza…" he reasoned weakly, scratching his head at her weird tastes.

"What about you? What's with the crust?" she asked with her arms folded. "The crust is delicious!"

"I don't really like the crust all that much." Steven explained as he wiped his mouth.

"Aw, I love the crust! We're total opposites! Are you sure we were friends back then?" she challenged sarcastically, raising her eyebrows as his eyes slightly widened. "I'm just joking!" she quickly informed the startled man.

"We really are opposites, I guess…" Steven mumbled in with a single nod of the head as he thought about himself and Sonata. He was, of course, a mature gentleman who disliked pizza crusts and kept the cheese on all his slices. The person sitting across from him was a childish girl who only appeared to be a 20-year old, and enjoyed nibbling on crusts without cheese! Yes, they were indeed nothing alike.

"Hey! I thought we were rebuilding our lost friendship here!" Sonata shouted, interrupting his thoughts with her defiant voice.

"…you have tomato sauce on your cheek." He responded with a slight chuckle.

"What? Really? But I used my napkin and everything…" her voice drifted off as she attempted to look at her reflection using the metal pizza pan on the table.

"Here." He leaned forward and wiped the red stain off with his fingers. Steven froze for a split-second, having done the action on instinct and without much thought. He could feel his heartbeat speed up by just a bit as Sonata stared at him and his outstretched, tomato sauce hand. How could he have done something so ridiculous? Now she would definitely avoid him!

"Gross!" she giggled, pointing at his fingers. Steven gaped back at her, unsure of how to respond to her reaction.

"G-gross?" he mumbled pathetically as her light laughter continued.

"Yeah! Now you have tomato sauce all over your fingers. You could have just given me a napkin." She explained as if it were the most obvious thing in Hoenn, handing him a clean one.

He couldn't help but laugh along with her.

_(.scene change.)_

"It appears that Steven Stone and Sonata Sade will be traveling together for some time." Hersilia reported, her face directed towards the ground. "Please allow me to—"

"No. You have already failed more than once, Hersilia." The same man with the cape and black boots stood before her, his face obviously displeased with her actions thus far.

"Sir, I—" she began, but he cut her off again.

"Very well," he said with a frustrated sigh, seeing that her determination stood strong. "But this time, you'll be partnering up with Rodwell."

Hersilia simply nodded, knowing that this was her last option. Rodwell wasn't someone she was on good terms with, but there was no denying that he was a capable trainer. He also happened to be rather popular with the female members of Team Tornado, although Hersilia couldn't understand why anyone would be attracted to such a man.

"Rodwell should be downstairs in the main room. Go discuss your plans with him, and make sure this time you succeed, do you understand?" The man swiftly turned around and walked off without bothering to wait for her answer.

Hersilia trudged down the steps and found her way to the room. The door was open, and she immediately caught sight of Rodwell, who was seated near the back of the area. A few other members were lingering around, for the team did not have much to do as its ongoing research on Rayquaza's whereabouts still had not resulted in any conclusive answers. Hersilia quickly advanced forward and informed Rodwell of the order from the boss.

"So you are to accompany me?" He asked Hersilia after hearing the story.

"_You_ are the one accompanying me, Rodwell." She replied bitterly, clenching her fists. "I'm sure I will be able to capture the silly girl this time, without your help. All you need to do is come along, since the boss insisted on it."

"Let go of your pride, Hersilia. These two are former champions, which means taking them on alone won't end up pretty. If we fail, I will claim responsibility, so don't you worry." Rodwell declared in a flat tone, rising from his chair. His stern blue eyes met hers and the tension thickened.

"They'll be leaving Rustboro soon." She said coldly before calmly exiting the room.

_(.scene change.)_

"So you and I ended up battling Team Magma at the space center. Of course, they were no match for us." Steven explained, retelling one of their exciting tales from the past. The two were seated on a public bench along one of the roads.

"Really?" Sonata tilted her head to the side and sighed. "I feel like I would never be able to do all these things. The stuff Brendan told me about seems impossible too."

"Why do you think so?"

"I mean, battling Team Magma and Team Aqua, and then somehow resolving the great battle between the legendaries, and then beating the champion and the former champion of Hoenn?" she listed one by one, pointing at Steven as she uttered the last achievement. "I feel like I'm just an ordinary trainer. There's no way I could have done all those things."

"You're an amazing trainer." He reassured her, but he could tell that she was still finding it hard to believe.

"Thanks." She offered him a small smile, but changed the subject. "…were we really close back then?" she questioned, glancing at his profile as he stared into the horizon.

"I'd like to believe so." He looked down at the silver rings on his fingers instead of facing Sonata.

"I didn't tell you this earlier, but…" she hesitated for just a few seconds before continuing. "Every time Brendan told me something, I understood and remembered things from the past. Sometimes it took a while, but I always managed to recall most of the memories eventually. But the events I can't remember, no matter how hard I try…are the ones that involve you."

He felt his body go numb, his heart drop suddenly. How could she dig up all her lost thoughts except the ones concerning him? The Beldum wasn't enough, even though she knew that she had received it from someone. Their battles, regardless of whether they were against each other or together, were non-existent in her world. The legendaries, the space center, their final moments in Meteor Falls, it all meant nothing. Steven's gaze remained fixed to the silver bands as her words echoed in his head.

"But…this might sound weird…but I…" she stuttered nervously for the first time that day as she played with her hands in her lap. "…I…I kept a journal during my travels. I don't really like keeping things like that, but my mom gave it to me as a gift before I left Littleroot. It was kind of hard to read the entries since my bag got wet and everything during the ferry accident but…"

She briefly paused, but Steven made no comments. She took a deep breath, released it in the form of a long sigh, and went on.

"There aren't that many entries, but the first one I wrote is about meeting someone named 'Steven.'"

His expression became a startled one, yet he still remained silent.

"I didn't think too much about it…Steven is a pretty common name and all. But I went through the journal when we were all about to sleep at your father's place. The thing is, all the stories I bothered to write down revolved around 'him.' I only mentioned the name 'Steven' in the first entry, and after that, I just kept writing really ambiguous things like 'I ran into him today' and 'He helped me out.'"

"…Can I take a look at your journal?" he managed to ask after taking in her confused words.

Sonata reached into her bag and handed him the worn, brown book with its faded pages and wrinkled cover. He browsed through the few pages that had been filled in, straining his eyes to try and decipher the ruined ink letters. She was right; the tales only mentioned his name once but seemed to refer back to him in every other sentence. One thing she had not told him was that no other name was mentioned, there was no trace of Brendan, or even mom and dad. He flipped through the 12 pages of neat, purple handwriting that depicted only the simplest of events. The sentences were short and straight to the point, providing no vivid imagery or further details.

But they fostered a strange, warm feeling inside of him. Here, at last, was proof of his existence in her life.

"You wrote about me." Steven said more so to himself as he traced the edges of the book. The curl on his lips was definitely hinting at a smile, but a sad one.

"S-so, these journal entries, they are about you, right?" Sonata hopefully eyed him as he closed the book. "Then…I-I'm sure that…that you were someone very special to me." She stated, her hesitant words dotted with flushed shyness, suggesting that this realization was more of a confession.

"Thank you." Steven looked to the side to face her, the journal still floating in his hands. His expression displayed a comfortable feeling of relief and content.

"Um…for what?" she mumbled slowly. Sonata still could not truly remember him, despite all her attempts. She would keep trying, but as of now, she could recall absolutely nothing. And yet here he was, thanking her as if she had finally repaired the lost bond between them. "I'm sorry, Steven, but this journal is all I have…I still don't really—"

"No, it's alright." For the first time he was okay with the fact, unfazed by her inability to recognize him. "We can just create new memories and fill in this book together, don't you think?" he held up the tattered book as if it were a delicate flower, freshly picked from a nearby field.

He passed it back to her, happiness steadily blooming in his settling emotions. He didn't want to be anywhere else in the world at that moment as he watched Sonata wordlessly place her journal back into her bag.

"Thank you for writing about me."


	10. Chapter 10

Rustboro didn't have much to offer, but Sonata had suggested that they let their pokemon out to play. They spent the rest of the day along route 104, exploring the small fields south of city. They decided not to go into Petalburg Woods but instead searched for various berries, both trainers and pokemon cringing at the sour flavor of the blue Rawst berries and happily munching on the sweet Pecha berries. Time sped by, and soon enough the landscape was bathed in a rich red and orange mix. Steven's Skarmory soared overhead, passing through pink clouds, and his Cradily stood still in the middle of some grass, apparently enjoying the warm weather. Armaldo and Aggron were still dining on whatever berries they could find a few feet away, and Claydol hovered near the pond's edge as it stared at its reflection. Sonata's Pelipper was splashing about in the same pond, occasionally bombarding Steven's poor Claydol with drops of water. Her Pidgeot had settled upon the thick branch of a tall tree, his wings neatly tucked in and his eyes shut closed. Sceptile was currently digging through Sonata's bag for some pokefood under the shade of said tree, and Charizard was lying down beside him, ready for a snack of his own. Her Manectric and Beldum were busy chasing each other on the small wooden bridge, paying no attention to the setting sun.

Steven and Sonata had taken a seat under a smaller tree, their backs against the young trunk and green leaves grazing their tops of their heads. They had joined their pokemon in running and laughing up until a few minutes ago, but were now completely exhausted. The two gazed at the horizon in silence until the orb of light completely disappeared and cool colors enveloped the air. The moon and stars weren't out yet, but it was definitely getting late.

"Should we get going?" he asked her, noticing that even the flower shop on the route was dimming down its lights in preparation of closing.

"Where to next?" she replied as she stretched her arms forward.

"Well, not Rustboro, for sure." He smiled, trying to think of another location. They had spent so much time in the town that they knew it like the back of their hands.

"Hey! Look, Gina! I think they're trainers!"

Two young teenage girls ran up to where Steven and Sonata sat, their short, dark blue hair bobbing along above their shoulders. They were wearing bright yellow summer dresses and excited smiles as they approached the former champions. Not only were their outfits the same, but they appeared to be identical twins.

"I think you're right, Mia!" one said to the other.

"I'm Gina, and this is Mia! We've been training here on route 104 for a couple of years since we live in Rustboro, and we love meeting new people to battle!" the girl on the left introduced, jumping up and down.

"So how about a double battle?" Gina asked with pleading eyes.

"…should we?" Steven whispered to Sonata as the twins waited for their decision. "I don't think they know who we are."

"Just because we're former champions doesn't mean we can't accept friendly challenges! Who knows, they might defeat us!" she reasoned, then stood and called for her pokemon.

"Alright!" Gina and Mia shouted in sync, high-fiving each other before taking out one pokeball each.

Steven and Sonata returned all their pokemon to their pokeballs except for Skarmory and Pidgeot.

"Woah, is that a Pidgey?" Gina asked suddenly, pointing at Sonata's partner.

"That's a Pidgeot! Pidgey are super tiny!" Mia replied right away, apparently proud of the fact that she knew just a tad bit more than her sister did about Kanto pokemon.

"Whatever! Lombre, come on out!" Gina stuck her tongue out at her sister before throwing her pokeball into the air.

"Nuzleaf, let's show 'em what we got!"

"You two can take the first move." Sonata called to them as Pidgeotto and Skarmory waited patiently.

"Okay, then! Ice beam!" Gina commanded, while Mia shouted "Hyper beam them!" at her Nuzleaf.

"Aerial ace!"

Steven and Sonata glanced at each other for a split second, startled at their unanimous response to the battle. They quickly regained their focus on their pokemon as the birds easily dodged their opponents' attacks. Their pokemon had obviously gone through more rigorous training, and were not only stronger but much faster than the average Skarmory or Pidgeot would be. Gina and Mia gasped as they watched their Lombre and Nuzleaf take direct hits.

"Woah, did you see that? I've never seen any flying pokemon move that fast before!" Mia exclaimed as her Nuzleaf struggled to stand. Despite being weak to flying moves, she had managed to get back to her feet. "Are you sure you can keep going, Nuzleaf?"

"I'm surprised their pokemon withstood our moves, to be honest." Steven quietly mumbled to Sonata, who tilted her head to the side in response.

"Are we really that good?" she questioned as her Pidgeot flew back to her side.

"I'm not trying to brag, but we are champions…" he told her yet again.

"Oh, right, that. Sorry!" she stuttered quickly.

"Lombre's still ready to go! Let's try another ice beam!" Gina announced in the midst of their conversation, catching the two so-called champions off guard.

Skarmory took the hit, and Nuzleaf sprang forward with a shadow ball just a few moments later. Pidgeot was damaged by the attack as well, and Lombre and Nuzleaf seemed to gain more confidence in their abilities at the sight.

"I don't know if we should keep going at this rate." Steven told Sonata. Although Lombre and Nuzleaf were standing, anyone could see that they were about to keel over if another attack were to strike them.

"Oh…but…" Sonata thought out loud, biting her lip. If they just stopped the battle now, Gina and Mia would be extremely disappointed. But if they continued…

"What do you think we should do?"

"Can we…just pretend to battle…?" she suggested, unsure of her own idea. "I mean, make it look like we're battling but let Gina and Mia win in the end. They'll be so sad if we just end it now, don't you think?"

"…alright."

And so the battle went on. It lasted for a good ten minutes or so before Sonata and Steven admitted defeat as their pokemon lay crumpled on the ground (of course, they were only pretending as well). Gina and Mia were overjoyed and pulled their Lombre and Nuzleaf into tight hugs at their success. As Sonata excitedly clapped for the victors, Steven couldn't help but smile at her good natured spirit and plain silliness. They called their birds back and approached the twins, who were still praising their tired but proud pokemon.

"That was a great battle. How long have you two had Lombre and Nuzleaf?"

"Since we were eight! We caught them when they were just Lotad and Seedot! We're still trying to get a water stone and a leaf stone so they can both evolve." Gina answered, looking up at Steven. "Hm…you look sort of familiar, mister."

"You're right!" Mia agreed immediately, squinting as she stared at the man's bewildered expression.

"Er, well…"

If the girls found out that they were actually the champions of Hoenn, they would know that they were going easy on them. But then again, he couldn't just lie to them! He glanced to the side and faced Sonata instead, who was currently shaking hands with Gina's Lombre and completely oblivious to Steven's predicament.

"Hey, are you two, like, dating?" Mia asked with a mischievous grin, noticing that Steven was intently focusing on Sonata's head. He was merely trying to get her attention without making any obvious gestures, but the twins had caught on right away.

"What?" Steven shouted a bit more loudly than he usually would have, startled at the young girl's accusation.

"I remember now, Gina!" Mia continued, the same grin still plastered on her face. "We saw these two outside the pizza place!"

"T-The pizza place?" Steven stuttered madly as the twins giggled. Sonata finally looked up at the commotion and blinked.

"What's wrong? What's so funny?"

"Ohhhh, nothing!" Gina and Mia teased together.

"Right, i-it's nothing." Steven assured her, but Sonata knew better than to believe him when he was acting so strangely and out of character.

"We were just telling him how we saw you guys eating at the pizza place! Then he got all nervous and started blushing and stuff! Right, Mia?"

"That's right! He's just embarrassed 'cause we found out you two were dating in secret!"

Steven coughed loudly before Sonata could say a word and crossed his arms. "I'm sorry to say this, but I am most certainly not nervous, nor am I blushing." He managed to say in a serious voice, but the girls wouldn't buy it.

"Liar!" Gina pointed straight at Steven's face, and her Lombre did the same, stretching out her arm and using her red claws to indicate the man as the culprit. His face changed into a similar shade of red as he realized that two 13-year olds were getting the best of him, and it didn't help that Sonata was starting to laugh as well.

"Hey, we're right, aren't we?" Mia asked Sonata with confidence.

"I don't know…you could be, I guess!"

"W-What?" Steven stared at Sonata with wide eyes, but she only smiled back at him, enjoying his unexpected reactions. He could feel his heart beat speeding up at her words, even though he knew that she was only playing along with the twins. He couldn't believe that he was out in the fields in the middle of the night being bullied by three girls. But even more unbelievable was how he was unable to remain calm at the moment, despite realizing that it was just a friendly joke. He tried once more to return to his "normal" state by switching his view to the now starlit sky, but his ears were still rattled by the never-ending giggles from Gina and Mia.

"Isn't he kind of old though?"

"Yeah, I think he's too old for you."

"But he is nice, right? And he's wearing that suit, so he must be a rich business man or something, don't you think so, Gina?"

"I guess so. But still, he has gray hair."

"Really? Isn't it more of a silver color?"

"No Mia, it's definitely gray!"

"Anyway, look! He has so many rings on his hands!"

"Wow! Does that mean he has that many girlfriends?"

"Huh? But that's not supposed to happen! It's supposed to be just her and him!"

"Hm…well, I still think they're cute together."

"Me too!"

"Do you really think so?" Sonata interjected for the first time, and the girls eagerly nodded, their eyes sparkling with delight.

"Definitely!" they both cheered.

"Did you hear that, Steven?" He jumped at the sound of his name but avoided Sonata's glance. She burst into laughter once more, holding her stomach.

"Aw, come on, Steven!" Gina chattered, catching his name. "The least you could do is to give her one of your rings."

"Oh, there's no need to do that!" Sonata said quickly, recovering from her laughing fit. "We're not actually—"

"Give me your hand."

She gazed at him with a perplexed expression, but his face had taken on an unreadable, slightly solemn look. He slid off the silver band on his pointer finger, and held out the same hand, the ring he had removed firmly grasped in his right. The remaining band on his ring finger glinted faintly under the bright moonlight as Gina and Mia watched the two in suspense. Sonata looked at his outstretched hand, then back at Steven, but was only met was a penetrating gaze from his silver-blue eyes, rather than an embarrassed or sheepish one. She hesitantly placed her hand in his, wondering what why in the world he was following the girls' suggestion in such an intense manner. It was if the moment was planned: he steadily and gently moved the silver hoop onto her ring finger and it slid into place. It might have just been because Sonata had chubby fingers, perhaps, but the ring remained there, shimmering proudly. Gina and Mia exploded into fangirl-like screams as Sonata examined her new accessory with unsure emotions stirring inside her.

"How romantic!" Gina sighed, swooning as if a boy had just given her a ruby necklace.

"I, um, it's late, and we need to get going, I think…" Sonata informed the twins. Now it was her turn to stutter uncontrollably.

"Oh, Gina, mom must be worried about us too! We should give her a call." Mia said as she took out her pokenav and checked the time. "It's already past nine!"

"Steven, sir! Before we go, can we get your numbers, please?" Gina asked brightly, wagging her pokenav in front of her.

"Of course." He quickly recorded his number and Sonata's into the girls' pokenavs and offered them warm smile. He then got a hold of Sonata's hand out of the blue and softly pulled her towards the road back to Rustboro. "Call us anytime."

"Um, see you guys around!" Sonata called back before being dragged away.

Her face flushed a bright pink as the girls disappeared from view and only Steven remained. When she was sure that they had walked far enough from their original location so that the twins wouldn't be able to hear them, she halted mid-step and cleared her throat in the most awkward manner possible. Steven released her hand and silently waited for her to speak.

"Er…you can have your ring back now…" She said simply, attempting to take off the silver band he had given her just moments ago.

"No, keep it." He said hurriedly, grabbing both her hands to prevent her from removing his gift. "I…I want you to have it. It's no big deal, really." He explained quickly, seeing her troubled expression.

"…why did you—"

"Because I didn't want to disappoint Gina and Mia, I guess." He cut her off, coming up with a pathetic excuse for his actions. He could tell that she didn't believe his answer, so he reassured her once more. "Really, Sonata. It was…I just wanted to see their smiles. Just like how you suggested we pretend to battle, remember? It was like that."

"…alright." She replied, not bitterly, but still with a hint of doubt.

Steven understood why she was acting this way, and for now he regretted what he had done. He wasn't thinking straight at the time, and he had just acted on what he thought was an opportunity to somehow convey some of his feelings to her in a more indirect way. He knew she didn't completely buy his story but was forcing herself to, and that he had accidentally put her under an extremely awkward spotlight. But even as these thoughts ran through his head, another suddenly emerged: if only he could have given her a better ring. The idea was ridiculous; he should be worried about Sonata's perception of him, not what kind of jewelry he had handed over. But as he watched her stretch out her left hand and examine the accessory, he only wished he could have graced her with a small gem encrusted ring at the very least.

"Thank you." Sonata finally said, rubbing the silver band in admiration. "It's beautiful."

"But it's so simple." Steven argued, surprised at her words.

"Just because it doesn't have a huge rock sticking out of it doesn't mean it isn't pretty." She explained with a brighter tone. "I don't really like flashy stuff all that much anyway."

"I know." Steven had knowledge of her rather 'unique' likes since long ago. "I'm glad you like it."

The two walked back to Rustboro in silence. By the time they reached the city's entrance, the stars were no longer visible because of the bright lights from the buildings. They headed into Mr. Stone's home, which was located not too far from the Devon Corporation. After agreeing to head for Dewford the next morning, Sonata excused herself into the guest room Mr. Stone had prepared for her earlier. Before retiring himself, Steven waited until the lamp light in her room flickered off, and then headed back to the company building, where his father and a few other employees were just about to close up.

"My boy, why are you here? And what about the young lady you were with?" his father inquired.

"She's back at home. I just needed to take care of some things here, sorry." Steven said quickly, walking past Mr. Stone and towards one of the workers clearing papers from a nearby desk.

"Mr. Steven Stone, sir." He greeted, putting down the stack of papers.

"Good evening. I need to ask you for a favor, if you don't mind—"

"Of course, sir."

"Thank you. I would like you to deliver these to two young girls named Gina and Mia tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon. I've written down their pokenav numbers on here." Steven explained as he handed over a small box and a slip of paper. "They should be hanging around route 104."

"Understood." The employee took the items and blinked when he felt the weight of the box. "Sir, the package is small but pretty heavy for its size, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes." Steven replied as he idly felt the area where the ring once was on his finger. "I'm sending them a water stone and a leaf stone as thanks."


	11. Chapter 11

"Thank you for letting me stay here, sir!" Sonata expressed her gratitude to Mr. Stone and he chuckled heartily in response.

"No problem at all, my dear." He shook her hand and smiled brightly. "I hope you have fun in Dewford! I'm afraid I still have much to at the company."

"Come on, Sonata." Steven called as he opened the door. "It's already past noon, and Dewford's a few hours away even by flight."

_(.scene change.)_

"Woo-hoo!"

Steven looked to his side, making sure to keep a steady grip on his Skarmory as he did so. He caught a glimpse of Sonata and her Charizard flying in a rather crazy fashion, darting from left to right and swooping up and down. His Skarmory scoffed at the sight and continued to fly forward elegantly, while Steven could only manage a few laughs at Sonata's outrageous method of traveling in the sky. Her hair wasn't too long, but it was still getting pretty tangled as her Charizard performed even more twirls and tricks. The two were obviously enjoying themselves; it was as if they were on their very own roller coaster ride.

"Hey, Steven! How close are we to Dewford now?" Sonata asked over the wind.

"It's only been a little past an hour! We still have to travel for a while!" he shouted back immediately, not surprised at all by her question. She was always a little too excited for things.

They flew until the blue sky turned slightly orange. At last they could see a small town on the horizon, the outline of the buildings stood clear against the cloudless background. Steven and Sonata had spoken to each other for quite a while, although Sonata had done most of the chatting. Steven preferred to listen to her ramble on about whatever she could and simply commented on what he found particularly interesting. He felt much closer to her than he did a few days ago; it was amazing how quickly they had formed a bond. She was a lot more comfortable in his presence now, but the topic of love had never come up, of course. Steven was much too embarrassed and awkward to ever mention such a word. Even pushing the ring onto her last night almost gave him a heart attack.

"No way!" she shouted suddenly, pointing ahead. "Look at all those gray clouds! It looks like a passing storm!"

"We should land for a while then." He looked down and quickly located a random spot among the ocean's waves where the two could safely stay. The path from Rustboro to Dewford was filled with small islands and many rock formations above the water, so there was nothing to worry about. "Follow me! We'll have to take cover down there!"

Drops of rain had already started falling by the time Steven and Sonata settled near an oddly shaped but giant rock that formed a sort of roof. They were protected from the storm, but their trip was put on hold for the time being.

"I hate getting wet from the rain." Sonata complained bitterly, eyeing the dark clouds.

"You sound like a child." He commented, observing her tone and posture.

"Everyone tells me I'm childish!" she replied happily, grinning just as a young girl would. "I don't mind. But it annoys people sometimes, I guess. I say a lot of things without thinking."

"That's right, you do." Steven agreed, enjoying her ever childish reaction.

"I never mean to hurt anyone though! I just get really excited over stuff, and I say whatever comes to mind."

"You sound pretty excited right now, too." He chuckled, unable to hold back his amusement.

"Well, you're way too mature and boring!" she teased, failing to come up with a witty response.

"Am I really boring?" he asked with an attempt at a frown, trying to appear hurt at her words.

"What's up with your face?" she asked coolly, genuinely confused at his weird expression.

Steven burst out laughing at her question, and she puffed up her cheeks.

"What's so funny?" she demanded as the storm overhead rumbled and roared.

"Getting a little too excited now again, are we?" He gained a small boost in confidence at the appearance of her pouty-face and couldn't help but get an urge to tease her back.

Their conversation was interrupted by a bright of flash light, quickly followed by a loud cackle. The rain had been steadily getting heavier, and now the skies were filled with thunder.

"Let's go. We'll be drenched if we stay out here." Steven held out his hand, and Sonata gladly took it. He helped her get back on her feet, and they walked along the slightly uphill rocky path until they came to a cave-like structure. Large boulders and slabs were pushed against one another, forming a natural roof above their heads.

"The waves won't reach us here. You okay?"

"No…I feel disgusting." Sonata was covered in water from head to toe, and her expression showed nothing but bottled rage. Although they had walked for only a couple of minutes, the rain had managed to unleash its fury on them quite easily.

"We'll dry off soon enough." Steven assured her as they sat against the stone wall. "Lighten up! The storm will pass over soon."

And with that, their idle chit-chat continued. The storm only seemed to grow even stronger as they waited in the cold. Even Sonata became quiet after a while, tired of doing nothing and sick of the never ending chorus of pitter-patter sounds. Regardless, her silence didn't last, of course, and she suddenly perked up a bit and began talking once more.

"You know, my mom said that I'll never find a husband because I still act like a kid!" she explained with a giggle. "Brendan's mom said the exact same thing to him! That he won't ever find a wife because she's going to have to take care of him like a child, and no woman wants that!"

"A-Aren't you too young for a husband anyway?" Steven asked a bit too awkwardly, despite trying to maintain his cool.

"Hm? Oh yeah, sure. I just turned 20 a few months ago! I feel ancient." she told him with a shrug. "How old are you?"

"Oh, er, I'm turning 27 soon…"

"No way! Wow, Steven, you're like a grandpa!"

"Grandpa? 20 and 27 aren't that far apart, you know…" he tried to reason, but only received a fit of laughter from Sonata instead.

"Wow, _twenty-seven_…" she repeated thoughtfully after her giggles had died down. Steven squirmed slightly at the sound of his age, but she didn't take any notice. "So where's your wife?"

"Huh? I don't have a wife!" he shouted, startled by her accusation.

"Why not? You're going to be 30 soon! You have a girlfriend at least, right?"

"I still have 3 more years, and no, I do not have a girlfriend." He stated calmly, finally regaining control of his quivering voice. "Er, how about you?"

"Me? No way!" she replied with a taunting smirk, wagging her finger. "My mom told me to go for Brendan once, but we're both close friends, nothing more!"

"Really? Brendan's just a friend?" Steven repeated a little too eagerly.

"That's right! I don't have time for this ga ga goo goo love business." She continued, ignoring Steven's change in tone. "I haven't even gotten my first kiss yet!"

"What?" he uttered, unable to fathom the last few words Sonata had declared with such enthusiasm.

"Hm? Why are you so surprised?" she asked quizzically, eyeing him as he avoided her glance.

"Oh, it's just, well, first kiss…I mean…" he coughed and fell silent before weakly continuing. "Er…I thought you would have gotten your first kiss by now…"

"Unfortunately, no one has ever won my heart." She replied in a sickly, overly sarcastic tone. "I'm sure you've captured a good number of ladies over the years."

"No…well, I've dated a couple of girls but…"

"I don't need to hear it." She mumbled with a large yawn, stretching her arms over her head. "How many hours has it been, anyway? I'm wiped."

"None of my relationships ever turned serious…or lasted more than a few months…" he explained slowly, desperate to let her know that he was not only absolutely single, but most definitely not a player.

Sonata answered him with another yawn before making use of actual words. "Why not? I mean, you used to be a champion, your father is in charge of Devon, you wear a lot of bling…" she listed off, jokingly referring to his silver rings.

"I guess…I always had someone else on my mind." He looked to his side when he heard no response, and saw that Sonata had already fallen asleep against the stone wall, her head down and her arms crossed and resting limply on her stomach.

_(.scene change.)_

"Where the hell are they?"

"Calm down, Hersilia. The storm has obviously delayed them."

"The moon is already out. The storm ceased hours ago!" she retorted impatiently, focusing her gaze on the sea. The waves had settled and all was peaceful, but she had not seen any trace of the two former champions of Hoenn.

"They will arrive eventually. We will have to wait." Rodwell stated before walking away from the shore. "We might as well wait in the city, Hersilia."

"This is ridiculous. When they decide to show up, I'm going to—"

"You need to let go of your silly emotions. Stay here if you wish, but I'm heading to the Dewford Pokemon Center."


	12. Chapter 12

**Note: Thanks everyone for the reviews, favs, and follows! Schoolwork is using up a lot of my time so updates have been taking a while. Sorry about that. :)**

"Hey, wake up."

Sonata opened her eyes slowly, struggling to adjust herself to the bright sunlight. Steven was leaning down in front of her, holding out his hand. She peered behind him and the boulders with her eyes squinting. There were no clouds, and only the bright blue sky remained. It was almost as if there was no storm the night before. She looked down on her lap, suddenly realizing she was covered in some type of clothing.

"Oh, is this your jacket?" she asked, gently pulling off the black suit and handing it over to Steven.

"Yeah. You looked a bit cold yesterday…" he explained as he took his jacket with his other hand. Sonata grabbed his arm and rose to her feet.

"Thanks! You really are a gentleman!" she chirped happily, stretching out her arms.

"Don't mention it." Steven replied, hastily putting his jacket back on and straightening out his red, tie-like scarf. "Let's head forward, shall we?"

_(.scene change.)_

"There it is!" Sonata exclaimed, pointing at the small buildings and houses in the distance.

"Let's land on the beach. We can take a relaxing walk to the main part of town." Steven suggested.

The two trainers dismounted quickly, already used to traveling by flight. The salty sea air and warm sand was all they could see and feel. Dewford was a mere speck, its buildings the size of an oran berry from their current viewpoint. Steven and Sonata had only taken a few steps forward when they were immediately cut off by a large Dragonite, her wings outstretched and her claws glimmering under the intense sun.

"A Dragonite? There are no wild Dragonite in Dewford, right?" Sonata asked in confusion, overlooking the Pokemon's angry demeanor.

"Get back." Steven instructed her, his Aggron already appearing by his side in a flash of red light.

The Dragonite attacked without warning, crashing into Steven's Aggron with great force. Aggron stood his ground, his immense weight and metal armor providing enough defenses to keep him on his feet. The two were locked in hand and hand, using all their strength to try and knock each other into the sand.

"No way, then Hersilia is—" Sonata started, but was interrupted off by a rather large Fearow. The giant bird wrapped its feet around her shoulders and soared into the air before Steven even had a chance to reach for another one of his pokeballs. He didn't have to worry much, though. Like any trainer would, Sonata had instinctively reached for one of the pokeballs in her pocket. The Fearow was attempting to carry her away, but she still had the ability to move her arms and legs around.

Her Pidgeot had appeared and struck in a matter of seconds. The Fearow descended a few hundred feet towards the ground, unable to successfully avoid Pidgeot's wing attack, and loosened his grip on Sonata. She took the chance and managed to pry herself out from his claws, then landed in the sand with a loud 'oof.' She was in a bit of pain, but still very much alive since the distance to the ground was shortened due to the Fearow's descent. Sonata's Pidgeot quickly landed by her side as she rubbed her sore bottom.

Steven's Aggron remained in combat with the Dragonite, who was a far superior challenger. There was no doubt that the Dragonite belonged to Hersilia. Even so, Aggron was steadily overpowering the orange beast each second. Steven rushed over to Sonata, who was now back on her feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked in slight panic, grabbing her shoulders.

"I'm fine, what about your Aggron?"

Her question was answered by the sound of Aggron's shout, followed by a bright burst of light from his jaws. Hersilia's Dragonite was beaten into the ground by the force of the hyper beam, and didn't seem too keen on getting back up again. She huffed angrily, but retreated without another moment of hesitation into the sky.

"Where are they?" Steven wondered aloud with a scowl, scanning the area.

"I don't see anything but sand and Dewford up ahead." Sonata mumbled as she too took a look around.

"Watch out!" Steven shouted, jumping forward and pushing Sonata down.

She found herself buried in the sand once more, this time with Steven directly on top of her. All she could feel was the burning sensation from the bits of warm sand in her clothes and Steven's weight, which was slightly crushing her. Steven, on the other hand, could only feel the burning sensation of his cheeks, which were the brightest red they had ever been.

"T-The Fearow was heading our way!" he shouted hastily, desperate to explain the reason for his action and the embarrassing outcome.

"The Fearow's leaving…" she said with a surprised tone as she observed the bird fly past them overhead and depart into the sky as Hersilia's Dragonite had done.

"Really? That's good, then." He managed to say, his voice growing weaker. He didn't even bother to look back to see if the enemies really had vanished for sure. His mind was in a bit of a haze at the moment. A few more seconds of silence passed before Sonata cleared her throat.

"You're heavy, Steven." She said simply, amused at his expression of horror when he heard her words. He stumbled to his feet, slipping over the sand once or twice as he struggled to maintain an upright pose.

"My apologies." He quickly announced, his voice once again confident and strong. His face was a different story, however, for his cheeks were still as pink as a Chansey.

"What are you so worked up for?" Sonata asked with a laugh, staring directly at what seemed to be a permanent blush on Steven's face.

"It's just, I, well, it's gotten hot." He stammered, pretending to dust off the sand from his clothes.

"No way, that can't be why. Your face is totally red." She thoughtfully tapped her chin as Steven silently watched her in distress. "Don't tell me that was the closest you've ever been to a girl! You said you dated a bunch of women before, right?"

"I-I most definitely did not date a 'bunch' of women." He retorted with his arms crossed. "I only dated 4 or 5…"

"Only 4 or 5?" Sonata repeated, emphasizing his words. "That's a lot compared to my grand total of 0."

"Anyway!" he said a bit too forcefully, desperate to change the focus of the conversation. "Team Tornado was definitely behind this attack. I'm pretty sure that Dragonite was Hersilia's, and Team Tornado most likely has flying type Pokemon like Fearow to use as well."

"Why are you still blushing?"

"Sonata! Please!" Steven remarked with a slight cough. "You could have gotten hurt. It was a good thing no actual trainers showed up—"

"Your cheeks are on fire, Mr. Stone."

"But WHY," Steven practically shouted, trying to ignore Sonata's childish comments as he reasoned out the situation by himself, "did Dragonite and Fearow leave without pursuing the fight? This battle was much too easy!"

"Haha, do you know what I just realized? Fire? Mr. Stone? You're a fire stone right now!"

He blankly stared at her smile of anticipation.

"That was a horrible joke, Sonata." He finally replied, yet he was unable to hide a slight smile of his own.

"Now will you tell me why you're blushing so much?" she asked curiously, but he quickly turned away again.

"I don't think you realize how dire the situation is right now!" he proclaimed to the sky, unable to face Sonata directly.

She suddenly gasped, causing him to hurriedly turn around without a moment's thought.

"Wait. When you landed on me…did you…touch my boob or something—"

"Excuse me! I would never do such a thing—" he exclaimed in utter disbelief, and he felt his cheeks grow warmer at her ridiculous accusation.

"Hey! You're blushing even more! So that's what happened, isn't it?!" Sonata grabbed her stomach and burst into laughter at Steven's current state. It was always good fun to see a well-mannered gentleman suddenly lose all his cool.

"I-I didn't!" His voice had grown weak again, and this time he didn't even have the courage to look at Sonata. He instead stared at some rocks over to his right side and unconsciously puffed up his cheeks in frustration.

"Steven! What's this new face?" she inquired with a clap of her hands. "You look kind of cute."

"What are you talking about now?" he demanded, his cheeks now de-puffed but his blush ever brightening. "Team Tornado might be in the area, we need to be on high alert—"

"Time for a new journal entry!" Sonata announced in her typical jokester voice as she reached into her bag and took out the old brown book from her journeys in the past. Ignoring Steven's words, she took the pen she had placed between the next free pages of the journal. "Let's see…" she mumbled, placing the tip of the pen onto the blank sheet and beginning to neatly write out her words. "Today….he…touched….my…."

"Sonata!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Will you explain to me what the point of all that was?" Hersilia snapped impatiently, glaring at Rodwell's rather expressionless face. "We could have ambushed them and gotten a hold of that girl without breaking a sweat. The only reason my Dragonite and your Fearow retreated was because of your orders."

"We can't take them head on, at least not at our current level." He responded coldly, rubbing his chin as he thought.

"What are you talking about now?!" she demanded angrily, furious at his statement. "I am more than capable of—"

"Our pokemon may have retreated on my orders," Rodwell interrupted, his tone also taking on a strong edge, "but there is no way we can defeat those two. Have you forgotten the fact that they are former champions? And what about all those times when you and your precious little Dragonite failed to win?"

Hersilia was silent, but she was still enraged at his accusations.

"I was planning to see what level these trainers are, and what sorts of strategies they employ when battling, so that we would have an advantage the next time we fully strike them. However, now that I've seen what they can do…" Rodwell made sure Hersilia was looking at him in the eye before continuing. "We will not be able to capture them on our own. I am contacting headquarters for more forces."

"Do what you want." She answered bitterly, turning and heading off in the opposite direction. Rodwell made no effort to call her back, well aware of her stubborn attitude.

"Don't do anything rash, Hersilia." He said simply as she walked farther away.

_(.scene change.)_

"Hello? Brendan?"

"Steven! How's it going?"

"We're doing fine. At least, I think we are." He replied with a slight chuckle.

"What's with the laugh? Awww man, you guys are having fun without me." Brendan complained from the other end of the line. "I was wondering when you would call. It's been a week since you guys last contacted me!"

"Sorry about that. I guess we've been busy—"

"Oho, busy? Busy doing what?" Brendan suggested in the slyest voice possible.

"Nothing like that!" Steven said quickly.

"Sure, sure." Brendan said sarcastically. "Anyway, when are you guys coming back? It's been like, what, a month?"

"A little bit more than a month, actually…a month and three days, I think—"

"Wow, I see you're keeping close track of your time with Sonata." Brendan commented yet again, finding it amusing to tease Steven over the Pokenav.

"You know I'm an organized businessman type of person kind of…" Steven tried to reason, stumbling over his words and providing a rather weak rebuttal. "I mean, I like to keep things organized. I am a businessman, after all."

"You haven't stepped inside your office in a month and three days, Mr. Steven Stone."

"True." He said with little remorse as Brendan laughed.

"I never knew you were such a laid-back guy, Steven. I always thought you were the type of person to be locked up in your company's highest floor all day, filling out forms and signing contracts."

"But I am." Steven said in a slightly surprised tone, suddenly realizing how very correct Brendan was.

"You mean 'you were.' I bet you haven't looked at a single document since you and Sonata left to travel together." Brendan continued to joke.

Steven paused and mulled over his thoughts. Brendan was absolutely right for once; but it wasn't that astonishing fact that was bothering Steven. He had almost completely ignored his company for over a month! But at the same time, he wasn't as worried as he would usually be. Of course, his father would be fine without him. But this was the first situation in which Steven didn't put his work first, let alone bother to think about it every day. He was suddenly reminded of the main reason his past 4 or 5 relationships didn't turn out too well: he spent more time cooped up in his office than on dates with his significant other. All the women he had seen had complained about his lack of dedication to the relationship, how his mind was always on forms and papers even during their outings to the movies. How he had cancelled their plans one too many times because of work, but had never skipped even a minute of work for them in exchange.

"Hey, are you still there?" Brendan asked after the 10-second silence.

"Hm? Oh yeah, sorry."

"Where are you guys now, anyway? I actually left Littleroot a few days ago to get some training done."

"We're almost through route 113."

"Wait, are you guys headed towards Fallarbor Town? I'm at the Pokemon Center there!" Brendan exclaimed happily. "Let's meet up! I haven't seen you and Sonata in forever!"

"Sure, we'll be there in a few hours or so. Sonata's taking a nap right now…"

The two finished their conversation within a few minutes. Steven placed his Pokenav back inside his pocket and sighed. It was startling that just a few words from Brendan could have brought up so many different emotions inside him. After the end of each of his relationships, he had always told himself that he would take more days off work and spend more time with whomever he happened to take an interest in next. But that didn't turn out too well.

He walked back to where Sonata lay, under one of the many trees along the route. She was cuddled up next to her Sceptile, who was also relaxing in the peaceful atmosphere. Route 113 was one of the most quiet and beautiful, even if the grass wasn't the usual bright green color like it was in all the other routes of Hoenn. Steven took a seat on the ground, ignoring the light bits of ash that covered his black pants. Sceptile opened his eyes and lazily blinked twice in Steven's direction, then drifted off again, recognizing that the silver-haired man was no danger. Team Tornado still had not shown their faces since the attack at the beach.

"Maybe I should call the company and check up on them…" he muttered to himself almost automatically. He had never planned for his travels with Sonata to last this long. He was sure that she would remember him within a week or two.

But it had been over a month, and she had yet to remember anything at all. Although he was disappointed, he couldn't complain about the extra time he had been spending with her. They had grown much closer; it was as if they had known each other for years (technically true, of course, but with the "lost memories" issue, they had spent only a tiny fraction of their lives together). The more he thought about Brendan's words, however, the more confused he grew. How could he not have thought about the company at least once during his travels? It was extremely unlike him to sweep his work under the rug even for a day.

He looked past Sceptile and at Sonata. Could it really be that he was enjoying his time with her so greatly that he had completely forgotten about work? That had never happened to him before with any other woman. It was a little strange, and at the same time, unnerved him a bit. Had he really fallen so hard for her? He had heard that love could make people "blind," but he had never taken the phrase seriously. His eyes traveled from her face to her fingers, where the silver ring he had given her remained.

"What am I doing?" he wondered out loud, putting a hand to his forehead. Sceptile shifted from his seat and stretched when he heard Steven's sudden exclamation, apparently disturbed by the noise. He let out a huge yawn before snuggling up closer to Sonata, not once looking back at Steven's figure.

"Well, I better wake her up…" he said to himself, rising from his seat on the ground and attempting to brush the ash off his pants to no avail.

_(.scene change.)_

"We're finally here." Steven commented as the two walked towards the Pokemon Center.

Both trainers were covered from head to toe in ash. They had tried to brush it off with their hands, but it only smudged and became even more noticeable on their clothes and hair. They had finally decided to give up halfway through route 113, and emerged from the path looking like they had spent their whole lives living next to a volcano. The glass doors to the center slid open to reveal a few other visitors in the same state. Many were wiping themselves with damp towels being handed out by a Chansey with a small cart.

"Hey guys, over here!" Brendan's voice called out. He had made himself comfortable in a red couch in the corner.

"Brendan! It's been forever!" Sonata pulled him into a tight hug and giggled, overjoyed to see her best friend.

"I'm happy to see you, too, but you're getting ash all over me!" he replied, then began coughing as he accidentally breathed in some of Sonata's ash cloud.

"Man up! You can't let a little ash get to you!" she retorted with a grin, taking a seat next to him.

"I flew in from the other direction, so I didn't have to deal with it." Brendan explained as he jokingly shook his head at their sorry state. "Looks like you ruined your super expensive suit, Mr. Stone." He then turned his head to the side to glance at Sonata once more. "Well, it's a good thing you can find your kind of clothes at the 99 PokeDollar store!"

Steven picked up a few towels from the Chansey back near the entrance as Sonata and Brendan continued to joke and laugh. Although the feeling wasn't as intense as before, he still felt a bit uncomfortable seeing Sonata so close to Brendan, despite it being completely logical and reasonable. He let out a small sigh before heading towards the pair, warm towels in his hands as offerings. The group finished cleaning themselves within a few minutes. A different Chansey bounced up to them and took the dirtied towels away, hopping through a door near the main counter. Brendan then turned to Steven, who was sitting to his right.

"So, when's the last time you guys watched the news or bought a newspaper?" Brendan asked, his voice taking on a serious tone and his smile fading.

"We catch up on news whenever we stop at a Pokemon Center, I guess. We visited one a couple of days ago, but nothing big was on TV. Why?" he inquired, noticing Brendan's expression.

"Team Tornado is moving again. It's really weird though, since all they've been doing so far is attacking trainers on far off routes. It's what usual bandits do. That's probably why the news didn't make a big deal out of it, but I recognized the team's green costume when the story was briefly covered." He explained, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the couch. "I think people just see them as a bunch of crooks in weird clothes. No one is really worried about them, but…"

"No matter what they do now, they'll never be able to reach Rayquaza." Steven said after a few seconds of thought. "Sonata and I are the only ones who know the exact location…" he stopped mid-sentence and looked at the girl on the other side of Brendan. "…do you remember, Sonata?" he asked softly.

"No…" she answered with a small voice, looking down at her lap.

"Well then," Steven said with a sudden gentle smile, "I'll tell you all about it. I was there with you when it happened. But it's a long story." He held out his hand in the air, passing Brendan and waiting for Sonata's grasp.

"Um, okay." She said in a slightly confused voice, hesitantly taking his outstretched hand with her own. He began pulling her up, but was interrupted by Brendan's words.

"Hey! What is going on?!" he demanded in shock, unable to take his eyes off the joined hands before him.

"I think he's going to explain the—" Sonata began, but Brendan stopped her again.

"Not that! I'm talking about the ring on your finger!" He gestured at the shimmering band.

"Oh, Steven gave it to me." She said matter-of-factly as she stood from her seat.

"Steven did?! So are you two…" Brendan looked at Sonata and then Steven, baffled at his discovery.

"No! It's nothing like that! Don't worry, Brendan." She replied with a loud laugh, smacking her friend on the back of his head. "But it's a long story." She told him, copying Steven's words. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

"You better!" Brendan exclaimed as Steven led Sonata towards the Pokemon center's exit. He rubbed his head and tried to relax again on the couch. "I hope this Team Tornado business doesn't get out of hand like it did with Team Magma and Team Aqua…" he mumbled quietly to himself before closing his eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

"This sure brings back a lot of memories." Brendan chirped nostalgically as he snuggled up against the wall, a thick pink blanket covering most of his body. "Sonata and I stayed at Pokemon Centers for the first few towns we traveled through back in the day."

"Really? I thought you two were the type to set up camp in forests." Steven replied, taking a seat on the ground next to Brendan. He blew on his cup of vending machine hot coffee and took a small sip.

"We love camping! It's just that we weren't prepared to take on a wild Pokemon ambush in the middle of the night. We were still beginners then, after all." Brendan yawned loudly but his eyes remained open as Steven continued to focus on his instant coffee.

"Who knew she could have come this far?" Steven commented airily, more so to himself than Brendan.

"Hey! Look how far I've come!" Brendan demanded with one of his usual smiles. "I've had all 8 badges right here in my backpack for a while now."

The two went on conversing idly as the sky outside grew darker. Fallarbor Town's Pokemon Center was one of the smaller ones in Hoenn, and the few trainers that had stopped by for a short rest and a quick check up had gradually exited through the glass doors. Nurse Joy remained behind the counter with a large mug of warm tea, while a couple of Chansey walked around the tiny center with cleaning supplies to tidy up here and there. It wasn't terribly late yet, but with the winter months approaching, the sun had already bid the region farewell.

"She said she was going to take a quick nap…does she always sleep for this long?" Steven asked Brendan as the clock ticked on past 8:00 PM.

"Eh, she was always a sleepyhead." He replied with a chuckle, observing the snoozing figure a few feet away. "How much time did we spend chatting?"

"A little over…two hours." Steven confirmed after checking his wristwatch.

"Wow, seriously? Ha, looks like we're officially best buddies, am I right?" He heartily slapped the silver-haired man on the back, causing him to drop his paper cup onto the floor. "Whoops, sorry, don't know my own strength…it's a good thing you finished drinking that a while ago!" Brendan watched as Steven picked up the empty cup and crumbled it up into a ball with his fist, getting ready to toss it into the nearby trash can.

"Hey! I just remembered!" Brendan shouted suddenly, startling the Chansey who happened to be walking by. She scuffled through quickly as he continued to speak in a rather loud voice. "Sonata's asleep, but that doesn't matter. You can explain this ring thing to me! Come on, tell me the story!" Brendan demanded, eyeing the identical silver bands on a few of Steven's fingers.

"There's no story really…" Steven mumbled, hiding his fist behind his back.

"That's a load of Tauros!"

"Well, it's a pretty long story and—" Steven began, avoiding Brendan's intense stare.

"Alright, fine. Before your little _love story_," Brendan said as he wiggled his fingers magically, "you should tell me about your adventures with Sonata and Rayquaza! That's not too embarrassing for you, is it?"

"What do you mean by love—" Steven started indignantly, his cheeks flushing red at the sound of the word.

"Love story later, Rayquaza story now! You explained it to her a couple of hours ago, didn't you? Now I wanna hear all about it too!" Brendan insisted stubbornly, ignoring Steven's cries.

And so, Steven recounted the rather complicated tale once more, making sure to add in vivid details about all of Team Magma and Team Aqua's schemes. He spent a few extra minutes retelling the scene of the double battle at the space center before continuing onto the sudden disasters in weather all over Hoenn. He remembered the harsh rainstorms and scalding heat waves like they had happened just yesterday. Brendan interrupted at this point, telling Steven of his own encounter with the never-ending rain during his journey. Then came the part with Kyogre's rise from the depths of the sea and Groudon's earth shattering roars. Brendan nodded thoughtfully, recalling the multiple news reports and excited gossip concerning the event. It was completely different hearing the story from Steven since he was there to witness all the chaos first-hand. The chatter finally came to an end with the short visit from the legendary Rayquaza.

"Wow, that's amazing…" Brendan said with a wistful sigh. "Did Sonata remember any of this when you told her earlier today?"

"…no." Steven replied with a sigh of his own. "Actually, I've given up on trying to get her to remember the past a while ago." He admitted in a slightly strained voice.

Brendan raised his eyebrows, taking note of Steven's change in tone. "…are you sure? I mean, the reason you started traveling with her was to get her to remember it all, wasn't it?"

"I've realized that I've been stuck on the past for too long." He explained, trying to ward off his sudden tiredness by rubbing his forehead. "I did originally use the trip as a way to try and get her memories back. But I guess you could say that now we've been creating new memories."

"New memories? You're such a romantic, Steven." Brendan chuckled, pulling the blanket closer to his chin. "Speaking of _romance_, Mr. Stone, what about the rings?"

"Er, what about them?" he stuttered slightly, looking towards the vending machine on the other side of the room in an attempt to avoid the subject.

"Good idea! We can get some coffee while you tell me all about it!" Brendan announced with joy, abandoning his covers and making his way to the machine.

They found themselves seated on a wooden bench right outside the center with their paper cups filled to the brim. Brendan breathed in the aroma deeply, trying to ignore the cold breezes that bit at his face. The moon was high in the sky by then, and because they were at Fallarbor Town, the stars were even brighter than usual. The ash hadn't stopped falling either, although there was a lot less of it inside the town than on the routes surrounding it.

"We were near Petalburg Woods, and these twin girls challenged us to a battle. Afterwards, the girls started joking around about Sonata and me…and things just got out of hand." Steven stated nonchalantly, hoping his quick jumble of words would suffice.

"That explains nothing!"

"Okay, well, they assumed that I was in a relationship with Sonata, and Sonata played along with it. Then the girls started giggling about all the rings I had on and I, er, offered Sonata one."

"And she took it?" Brendan asked suspiciously.

"Um, I kind of put it on her finger—"

"Woah!" Brendan exclaimed with a clearly amused grin plastered on his freezing face. "Sonata may have been joking, but I have a feeling you weren't just taking part in the game."

Steven decided to focus on drinking his no longer steaming cup of coffee, but Brendan didn't take his silence as a no.

"Steven, all laughs and sarcasm aside," he said after clearing his throat, "do you have a thing for Sonata?"

"We're getting to be closer friends, I hope." Steven responded after yet another sip from his cup.

"Then tell me, are your cheeks turning red because it's cold as the North Pole tonight, or are you blushing?"

"He's probably blushing! He does it all the time nowadays!" a voice proclaimed as the glass doors closed behind her.

"S-Sonata!" Steven stuttered madly, clutching his coffee a little too tightly. The paper cup gave way and the rest of the dark brown liquid splattered on his hands and dripped onto the dirt ground. Both Brendan and Sonata were overcome with laughter at the sight.

"Did I scare you or something?" she asked in between laughs, unable to contain herself. "All I did was answer Brendan's question."

" So…you just got here, then? You didn't hear anything else we said before my question?" Brendan asked in a dreadful attempt at an innocent, unknowing voice.

"Yep, just arrived after waking up from my nap." Sonata responded curtly, taking no notice of her friend's strange inquiry. She was still full of pep despite having just woken up.

"I'm going to try and get some rest now." Steven announced with a weak chuckle, trying to excuse himself as quickly as possible. He didn't want Brendan bringing up anymore love related conversations, especially with the girl in question standing right beside them.

"Man, are you sure? You just drank some coffee." Brendan protested as Steven left his seat.

"I didn't get to drink much." Steven pointed out the crumpled cup in his hand and the stains on the ground. "Goodnight." He bid them a short farewell and disappeared into the center before Brendan could say any more.

Sonata gladly took Steven's spot on the bench and rubbed her hands together. "Why were you two out here anyway? It's cold!"

"Just having a good old man to man chat, you wouldn't understand little girl." Brendan said with a shrug. They burst into laughter yet again as Sonata punched his arm to retaliate.

"Aren't you sleepy?" she questioned, but he shook his head.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Actually, it's good that you and I can talk privately."

"Hm? Privately?"

"I mean, without Steven." He explained, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Sonata. When are you ending this travel thing with him?"

"O-oh…well, I'm not sure. We haven't talked about that yet—" she said slowly, wondering why Brendan was asking her such a question in the middle of the night.

"Steven told me about the battles you both had with Team Aqua and Team Magma, and the incident with Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza." Brendan stated sternly as Sonata shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "You know how I've been worried about Team Tornado since we first butted heads with them. And now they've been attacking more and more trainers."

"I know, but…" Sonata stared at her lap, unable to verbally express the strange feeling inside her.

"You and Steven are the only ones who know about Rayquaza's location. He wouldn't even tell me about it when he was explaining the story today." He continued, drinking the last of his coffee as Sonata quietly sighed.

What Brendan was saying was completely logical, but at the same time she couldn't help but want to completely ignore his words. It wasn't that she saw Team Tornado as a joke; on the contrary, she had been slightly worried about their plans ever since their first meeting, despite her carefree attitude about traveling in the open. But the danger that Team Tornado was posing wasn't strong enough to make her want to quit, at least not anymore. Sure, she was unsure about not only spending time with Steven, who was a stranger to her at the time, but also about how to deal with Team Tornado. She was lucky they hadn't been able to do much damage to her and Steven so far, but how far would their luck go?

And yet, she still didn't want to end her journey, regardless of the amount of luck they were riding on. She was a traveler at heart, of course, being a Pokemon trainer and all. But that odd, nagging feeling inside her chest wouldn't go away, even with Brendan's reasonable points. Was it the feeling of being on the road? The intense battles? The beautiful scenery? Or was it…

"Steven."

"H-huh?" Sonata looked up, startled from her thoughts.

"He told me that he's given up on trying to get your memory back." Brendan went on, tossing his empty cup into the trash bin right beside the bench. "And since that goal's been erased, is there really a reason to keep traveling like this? I know you're having fun, and I'm sure he is too, even though you can't remember much…"

She flinched at that fact, the guilt welling up in her stomach.

"I'm not saying you should stop traveling permanently. But until this Team Tornado thing gets sorted out, why don't you take a break?" he suggested.

"Thanks for thinking about me, Brendan." She answered finally, offering him a tiny smile. "But…for some reason, I don't want to stop."

"Why?" he questioned sharply, his voice firm.

"I'm not sure." Sonata mumbled, narrowing her eyes at Brendan's sudden display. The smile disappeared from her face as he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Why are you and Steven both so insistent on traveling like this?" he demanded, staring her straight in the eye. "What are you going to do when all of Team Tornado shows up?"

"…we'll find a way to deal with them, I'm sure." She managed to say, burning under his look.

"And just how are you so sure?" he persisted as she squirmed.

"We've beaten them every time so far." She told him simply, but her voice was still wavering. "Um, and, we're former champions so—"

"You don't even remember being a champion."

There was a painful silence in the air. Brendan suddenly realized the effect of his previous statement as Sonata crossed her arms and shifted her gaze to her feet. There was no resent in her half-hidden expression, a more solemn look rested on her tired face.

"I'm sorry." He said immediately, reaching towards her. "I shouldn't have—"

"It's alright. I know you're just looking out for me." She let him hold her hand and giggled slightly at his genuine concern for her. "Thanks for everything Brendan. Even the for the times I don't remember…you've helped me out so much since we first met in Littleroot."

"So…" he began weakly, already half-expecting what Sonata had to say next.

"But I know I can handle Team Tornado." She said firmly, letting go of his hand. "I'm not a helpless little girl, you know that."

"It's not a matter of whether you're helpless or not, Sonata. It's the threat that Team Tornado's posing." Brendan leaned back in his seat, knowing that at this point, his words would do no good. "Anyway, can you explain what's going on, exactly?" he asked curiously, changing the focus of the discussion.

"What do you mean?" she answered as she sat up straighter, honestly confused.

"You're gonna keep going, even though I've warned you about the possible dangers." He waved his hand in the air. "But why?"

"I want to keep traveling with Steven." She said swiftly, having repeated the same idea several times before.

Brendan let out a small laugh at her seemingly normal response, causing her to look at him with bewilderment. What in the world was so funny? He put a hand on her shoulder before speaking once more.

"Do you really want to keep traveling?"

"Of course I—" she began indignantly, wondering why in the world Brendan was asking the same question over and over again.

"_Or_," he cut in, stopping her dead in her tracks, "do you want to be with Steven?"


	15. Chapter 15

"What?"

"You heard what I said."

Brendan eyed his friend, wondering what sort of response she would come up with.

"…traveling with him has been fun." Sonata began hesitantly, though she took a rather relaxed posture. "But I've always liked going to different places, you know that."

"Uh-huh…" Brendan said slowly, edging her on to say more.

"I haven't been able to get out much after the ferry accident. It's not that I don't appreciate our short trips to Oldale Town and Petalburg City, but Steven's reintroduced me to the rest of Hoenn."

"What are you talking about?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows, baffled at her bland yet ridiculous answer. "We've been to Rustboro and Slateport, and— "

"That's not what I mean." She said quickly, realizing that her explanation had not sufficed. But she herself didn't know what to say next; her own thoughts and feelings were confusing her at the moment. She couldn't put a finger on what sorts of emotions were stirring inside her as she thought harder and harder about the time she had spent with Steven.

"I've never seen you this quiet before." Brendan remarked a few minutes later. "…except for the time when we went to see Steven for the first time back in Lilycove." He hinted with a teasing smile.

"It was awkward!" she said with a smile of her own, thinking back to the uncomfortable moment. "It was like meeting a complete stranger."

"We meet strangers all the time."

"Yeah, but he wasn't what I expected at all!" she retorted immediately, recalling the details of their encounter. "I thought he would just be another trainer I met on the road in the past. But he was older, and in a suit!"

"Ha, you're right about that. Steven sure isn't your ordinary, everyday type of trainer." Brendan chuckled loudly, his breath appearing as big white puffs of smoke in the air. "It gets cold really fast up here near the mountains." He said as Sonata puckered up her lips and breathed out fiercely, as if shooting her own ice beam attack.

"I love the winter!" She stated in a voice as bright as the moon above them, slowly falling into her own little world.

"It's still the beginning of November! It's only this cold because we're in Fallarbor." Brendan informed her, but she shrugged off his facts by sticking out her tongue.

"If you're so worried about me and Steven, why don't you come with us?" Sonata asked out of the blue. She rubbed her hands together in an attempt to thaw out her frozen fingers as she waited for Brendan's response, but it seemed like it was his turn to become quiet.

"…I don't know if that's such a good idea." He said after a few seconds of thought, moving closer next to Sonata to try and get warm. "I feel like I would be intruding."

"What? Why?" She leaned sideways against him, welcoming the warmth. Her thin hoodie wasn't doing much to block the bitter winds.

"You and Steven should both know why." He replied in a sing-songy voice, but Sonata remained oblivious to Brendan's hidden accusations.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Alright. Looks like Mr. Brendan needs to give another lesson!" he announced with gusto. "But first, let's go back inside, it's freezing out here! Plus, the ash is starting to pile up on our clothes again." He grabbed her arm and they reentered the Pokemon Center. They were greeted by the usual Chansey and the warmth of the heating system.

"Look at that, sound asleep." Brendan whispered to Sonata, pointing to the corner.

Steven was sitting on the floor, huddled up against the wall, slightly hunched over with his arms crossed in front of him. His posture looked uncomfortable, but one of the Chansey waddled over and covered the slumbering man with the center's trademark pink blanket. He now appeared snuggled up and warm at the very least, his head slightly bobbing up and down with each deep breath he took. Brendan and Sonata couldn't help but find the scene amusing. His once crisp and fancy suit was now rumpled beneath the covers; no one would believe that the man snoozing on the side was son of the Devon Corporation CEO and former Hoenn Champion Steven Stone.

"Look Sonata. I know you've never been in a relationship before, but you sure are a Psyduck when it comes to love." Brendan said after they had taken seats on the small red couch near the vending machines. They had refrained from getting more coffee since it was getting late, and since they did plan to sleep eventually.

"I don't know anything about love." She said with a pretend scoff. "And Psyduck are kinda cute, thank you very much."

"Don't get off topic now, little missy." Brendan wagged his finger in her face, then received a hearty slap on his shoulder.

"So what's your lesson about?" she asked after her brief revenge.

"You say that don't want to stop traveling with Steven. The key word here is 'Steven.' Am I right?" he questioned, getting straight to the point.

"Like I said before, exploring with him is fun." She said with unblinking eyes, finding her reason extremely simple.

"I know, I know. But being with him is different from going around with me, right?"

"Of course it is, he's a different person—"

"No! I mean, yes, we're different people, but that's not the reason why!" Brendan shook his head exasperatedly. "Doesn't your heart beat a little faster when you see him? Doesn't happiness fill your soul each time you talk to him? Doesn't time fly when you're by his side?"

"…have you been reading romance novels?" she asked, exploding into a fit of badly suppressed giggles.

"Man…maybe I was wrong about you." He replied with a defeated sigh. Sonata just wasn't responding to anything he threw at her. "But!" he said immediately, confidence quickly returning, "…there's no doubt that Steven has his eye on you!"

"Is that what you've been talking about this whole time?!" Sonata remarked, the gears in her little head finally clicking. "Brendan! You totally have been reading romance novels!"

"I have not!" he yelled in the tone of a small child. "It's so obvious! Steven has a huge crush on you!"

"That's not true." She argued, crossing her arms defiantly. She was a bit startled at how seriously Brendan was pushing the idea.

"Is it really?" He moved his head in front of hers, starting the same old staring contest again. "How long have you two been exclusively traveling together again? Over a month?" he stated sarcastically with a silly grin, then went on without giving Sonata a second to reply. "And even though it's been so long, you two are still going at it. You haven't gotten tired of each other."

"Well, if we really were friends back then like he said, then it makes sense that we would get along—"

"You're such a Psyduck!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"How can I when you're acting just like one?" Brendan took a hold of her wrist and pointed at the shimmering silver band. "You do realize that this is on your left hand? And on your _ring finger_?"

"Yes, I know! But that's b-because—"

"I already heard the delightful tale from the man himself, no need to explain." Brendan hushed her up without a moment to waste. "It's just that you've kept it on ever since then."

"I-I tried to give it back to him, but he insisted—"

"Of course he did!" Brendan was on a roll now, and Sonata was utterly flabbergasted. None of her fumbling protests were able to break through the wave he had created. "That ring is a symbol of his affections!"

"That's a weird way to put it—" she muttered with a glance to the side.

"Okay, I admit, maybe I do sound like I've been reading romance novels—"

"Ah-HA!" Sonata burst out loud, finally discovering something to latch onto. "I knew it!"

"Excuse me, but it's past ten, and there are resting Pokemon and trainers here. Please refrain from yelling."

Brendan and Sonata looked up to see a frowning Nurse Joy standing before them. They hastily apologized, but their hectic argument went on in heated whispers as the pink-haired lady made her way back to the counter.

"Enough with this romance novel stuff!" Brendan commanded impatiently, trying to get the focus back to where it had originally been. "Why can't you see that Steven likes you?"

"Because that's ridiculous! It's not like he told you himself, is it?" she questioned stubbornly.

"No, but, Sonata, there's so much evidence!"

"It's all in your head. There's no way in Hoenn he would ever…" She observed the ring on her finger and her voice trailed off. A sinking feeling developed in the pits of her stomach and she became unable to finish uttering her previous sentence.

"…anyway…" Brendan began slowly, raising his eyebrows at the unexpected turn into silence, "…what I really want to know is how _you_ feel about him."

Maybe it really was because she had never been in a relationship before. Sonata motionlessly sat there beside Brendan, struggling to put together an answer for him. How _did_ she feel about Steven? The man had said that they were friends, but Brendan was making her think twice. There was no way to know for sure what sort of bond she had shared with Steven in her younger days. Of course, Brendan was intensely discussing the present, not the past. Nevertheless, she wondered about the sorts of feelings she had held for Steven before the ferry accident.

Although she couldn't recollect her old emotions, the tattered journal with the writing in purple ink had to mean something. She had assumed her entries didn't indicate anything more than a great form of friendship, but maybe, just _maybe_, she felt more strongly for him back then. And then there was Beldum; even though she hadn't known where it had come from, she had loved it all the same. But honestly, she thought to herself, a withered journal and her Beldum were all she could come up with. She hadn't even noticed Steven's name and number in her pokenav until he contacted her first. She just couldn't see a reason to believe that they might have seen each other as more than friends.

Yes, that was right. They were good friends back then, nothing more. So the idea that she would feel differently about him now was preposterous. They had repaired their lost bonds and had gotten closer; it made sense that she would want to continue spending time with him, and he with her. No wonder Brendan was suspicious of their so called "love." He was just overreacting as usual.

But why was she still so caught up in this whole affair? It definitely wasn't anger or annoyance at Brendan's constant remarks. He was being regular old Brendan, full of curiosity and stubbornness. She just felt…defeated. A heavy sensation similar to disappointment wouldn't leave her chest the more she thought about the predicament. There were multiple thoughts swimming through her head, and she felt like she would drown if she didn't let some of her emotions out. She hesitantly looked up and saw Brendan gazing back at her, his eyes filled with worry at her strange, non-talkative behavior.

"Listen, it doesn't matter how I feel about him." She said finally. "But Steven doesn't like me in that way, alright?"

"Sonata—" Brendan said weakly, knowing that something was wrong.

"He's older than me, for starters." She continued, almost as if she hadn't heard her name at all. "I'm 20, Brendan. I must've been 15 if I met him during my trainer journey. He probably sees me as a little kid tagging along for fun, even now."

"I don't think he—"

"He's next in line for the Devon Corporation and he's a former champion."

"You're a former champion—"

"But I don't remember any of that, right?"

"I'm sorry I said that before—"

"It's alright, you were just telling the truth." Sonata watched Brendan uncomfortably shift in his seat. "He's rich, and apparently, he's dated a bunch of women before. I'm sure they were all pretty and successful."

"You're pretty and successful." He smiled and insisted, attempting to lighten the mood with some stray humor. He waited for a reaction, but Sonata remained oblivious to his jabs. "Why are you saying all this?" he asked, trying to pinpoint why she was acting so out of character.

"You told me that you think Steven likes me. I'm just…explaining why that's impossible."

"I don't think it's impossible." Brendan said gently, beginning to understand what Sonata herself didn't. "I know I sound like a broken record player, but you still haven't told me how you feel. And don't say that it doesn't matter how you feel about him, because that's all I care about."

"…I like being with him." She answered rather firmly, as if stating the fact to her own reflection. She seemed to be convincing herself that that was all there was, or rather, that the other scattered ideas in her head didn't make enough sense to accept.

"Whatever you say, Sonata." Brendan ruffled her messy black hair. He could see through her doubt, having been friends with her for years. It was also fairly easy to see that she wasn't being honest with herself; she still uncontrollably displayed a part of her inner feelings to the world, having the heart of a child. But now wasn't the time to push her further, especially when she was unconsciously refusing to acknowledge her own blooming feelings. "I'm sorry about making you repeat the same things over and over again tonight."

"It's okay…" She stretched her arms upward, as if reaching for the ceiling, then relaxed her shoulders. "I'm beat." She flashed him a tired grin, and he decided to let her go.

"Go get some sleep. You need to get up bright and early! Steven gets up quickly, I bet."

"He does, but I always make him wait for me!"

And they returned to their peppy selves, although sleepiness had finally caught up with their bodies. Sonata excused herself first, slumping towards the corner where Steven rested to take her own place on the carpeted area of the floor. Brendan slid a few coins into the machine and watched as a stream of hot coffee was automatically poured into the oh-so-familiar paper cup. He returned to his seat on the couch with his drink, buried deep in his thoughts. The clock read way past eleven the next time he glanced at it. He moved his eyes toward where Sonata and Steven both lay, their backs against the wall. Steven had apparently woken up just a few moments ago, and was taking the opportunity to give up his blanket for Sonata's sake. Brendan observed from afar, hidden from immediate view by the side-counter and a couple of decorative plants. As Steven returned to his original position, Sonata's slumbering body decided to drift off to the side, conveniently landing her against the man's shoulder.

Steven slightly jumped in surprise at the contact, but soon relaxed after seeing the top of Sonata's head resting on him. He looked down at her with a faint, sheepish smile, his weary eyes brightening at the feeling of her weight and warmth. He carefully leaned in her direction so he could use his other arm to pull the sheets up to her neck. She remained still, having already entered the dream world much earlier, and he peacefully closed his eyes beside her, unaware that Brendan had witnessed the entire interaction.


	16. Chapter 16

"Sonata and I had an interesting chat yesterday night, you know."

"…about what?" Steven asked hesitantly, knowing that he was about to start off a new day with another crazy conversation with Brendan.

"You know…_things_…" he hinted heavily, adding in an exaggerated shrug for extra measure.

"…what do you mean by things?" Steven questioned eventually, taking the bait like a Magikarp and an old rod.

"Oh, you know, the usual…like Team Tornado, the ridiculously high prices of coffee nowadays, romance novels, just life in general."

"…I…you…what?" Steven was completely at a loss for words at Brendan's summary.

"She's not worried too much about Team Tornado, I've bought way too many cups of coffee from that machine, and she thinks I'm reading romance novels."

"Er…"

"Do you think I'm reading romance novels, Steven?"

"I…I'm not sure—"

"Well, I'm definitely not reading romance novels. But I can still see all this fishy, lovey-dovey stuff happening right before my very eyes! What do you say to _that_?" Brendan proclaimed proudly, a smug look of victory plastered on his face. He felt he had done well in getting his point across.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Steven replied automatically, glancing to the side.

"Don't play dumb with me, mister." Brendan slapped his hand down on Steven's shoulder, causing the man to flinch in disbelief and pain. What had he gotten himself into now?

"I assure you, I'm not—" he began, attempting to take his gentleman stance, despite it having never worked with Brendan before.

"I saw what you did yesterday, tucking Sonata in and letting her rest on your shoulder." Brendan put an abrupt end to Steven's excuses with his announcement. He patted Steven on said spot a few times, nodding his head with certainty. "And wow, after seeing that, I bet you I could start _writing_ romance novels!"

"Y-You were in the Pokemon center then?" Steven stuttered, losing his cool as he so frequently did with Brendan's tomfoolery.

"That's right! Hiding behind Nurse Joy's flowers!" Brendan jumped on the chance, determined to get some straight answers out of Steven's fumbling. He wouldn't let his only solid evidence go to waste, not now! "There's no denying that you like her!"

"You're misunderstanding—"

"Give it up, Steven Stone! I've got you now!" Brendan reveled in his position, sure that he would finally win the battle with this kind of upper-hand. "You like Sonata Sade!"

"Brendan, I don't—"

"You have a crush on Sonata!"

"Please, you're yelling too loudly—"

"Hey! Sonata, wake up! I have lots of new stuff to tell you—" Brendan was just about to turn around and dash back to the other side of the Pokemon center where the girl lay, still asleep under the covers. He suddenly felt a pair of hands gripping the back of his jacket, refusing to let him loose.

"Okay, okay!" Steven whispered desperately, struggling to keep a hold of Brendan's madness. "Just, just don't wake her up!"

"Yes!" Brendan shouted in triumph, hastily turning back to face his losing opponent. "So you like her?" he asked one last time to be absolutely sure.

Steven stayed silent, rubbing his arm in embarrassment. His cheeks had transformed into the brightest of reds and his bed-hair wasn't helping him look any more confident. His current posture made him appear as if he had just been caught stealing cookies from the kitchen before dinner time.

"I'll take that as a yes." Brendan put his arm around the defeated man and let out the greatest of laughs. Even Nurse Joy stopped her work and peered over the counter to see who had created such a sound at 8 in the morning. "Now, it's time to move onto the next topic!"

"T-The next topic?" Steven repeated in a fairly panic-stricken voice, having believed that just a moment ago the worst was over. "But I already…" his voice trailed off, not wanting to confess a second time aloud.

"Sonata told me a lot of things yesterday." Brendan didn't seem to notice Steven slump further, wishing to disappear from the area. Brendan maintained his grip on him and moved the discussion forward. "She said that there was no way someone like you would ever fall for her!"

"…w-wait, you…you already told her that I…like her?" Steven managed to ask after a bit of fumbling with words and quick thinking.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It was a hunch, so she didn't believe me, but I sure did tell her! I mean, it's really obvious." He grinned widely as Steven fought the urge to yell in frustration. "Even if I had gone and told her about your feelings _now_, she would've ignored me just like she did yesterday night."

"…so I didn't need to tell you anything."

"Yep. But you did!" Brendan chuckled at Steven's pitiful expression of both shock and distress. "Sorry about tricking you and all that, but hey, you fell for it right away!"

"…right." He muttered, putting a hand over his face.

"Anyway, let's try to focus! Sonata pointed out many things yesterday that need your attention, Mr. Stone. Shall we begin our business meeting now?" Brendan pretended to straighten out his non-existent tie and stood tall.

"…let's take it outside, then." Steven replied with a weak smile, unable to fully ignore Brendan's humor at this point.

And so they made their way to the lone bench right outside the center yet again, then brushed off the thin layer of ash that had accumulated on its surface overnight. The sky was clear today and it seemed like the ash wouldn't start falling again until later on. They would have to leave Fallarbor Town before noon if they wanted to be sure to keep their clothes ash-free.

"Let's see now…I'll start with…age." Brendan commenced, holding the attitude of a businessman who had not only done his research correctly but had also come prepared with a slide show to boot. "As we all know, Sonata is 20 years old, though she will be turning 21 soon. Mr. Stone, you are…?"

"Er, I just turned 27 a few months ago." Steven said uncertainly, unprepared for what Brendan was planning on revealing at this so-called "meeting."

"Come now, Mr. Stone, you don't need to be bashful about your age."

"I didn't think I sounded—"

"No matter, that seems about right." Brendan commented all knowingly, nodding his head. "So the difference in age is what, 6, 7 years?"

"…yes, I believe so—"

"Sonata informed me yesterday that this petty issue with numbers is just one of the many obstacles in your combined paths to love!"

"Excuse me, but—" Steven quickly tried to jump in, but Brendan's businessman act was much better than he expected.

"No buts, I'm not finished!" he commanded with an air of superiority. Steven simply faltered in the sidelines. "Do you feel that 6 or 7 years is too much? Sonata seems to think so."

"…does she? I admit that it might have been too much when we were younger, but—"

"Hold on, Mr. Stone. When we were younger, you say? Does this mean that you have been interested in this young lady since she was…15?" Brendan calculated quickly and accurately, just as real businessmen should.

"I…I suppose, in a way, but…it wasn't anything serious, really…I just thought she was…um…" Steven had never stammered so much in a business meeting before, it was absolutely ridiculous that he was losing to a rookie on such a juvenile topic.

"You just thought she was what, Mr. Stone? We don't have all day."

"…she was a little cute, I suppose." He admitted in a strained tone, pulling at his collar. "Anyway, if she thinks that I'm too old for her—"

"Cute? Alright, moving on," Brendan continued, clapping his hands in the air. "We also need to think about status, do we not? Even if you two did happen to be the same age, you are simply not from the same social class!" he exclaimed dramatically with a shake of his head.

"…I don't see why that would be a problem—"

"Don't ask me, ask Sonata. She was the one who claimed someone of your high status would never fall for a girl like her." Brendan rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he reviewed his facts. "I know you've been ignoring your duties lately, but you are next in line for the Devon Corporation. And you were former champion, of course. And a good number of people call you rock maniac, so I'm sure you've done extensive research on all sorts of minerals and what not."

"All of that doesn't matter." Steven asserted firmly, finally latching onto the once wavering courage in his beliefs. "If she thinks that I would see her in another way just because of the difference in our so-called 'statuses,' then she's got it all wrong."

"And that's what you need to prove to her." Brendan told him with a smile, discarding the businessman play after hearing Steven's conclusion. "She kept giving me all these same excuses yesterday. She was trying to explain why it would be impossible for you to fall for her."

"So…she doesn't feel the same—"

"You know," Brendan interrupted for the millionth time, "Sonata did tell me that you've dated a few other women before, but you're just as clueless as she is."

"…I don't understand. What am I not getting here?"

"A lot, which is why I'm here acting as Cupid." Brendan joked. "She's never fallen for someone before, you know. That's what I think, at least. I wasn't with her for a good chunk of her journey to become champion…so maybe you know more about her in some ways."

"All I know is that she's never been in a relationship…" Steven told him, wanting to hear more of Brendan's thoughts on the matter.

"That's why I think she doesn't realize what she's really feeling. She's never taken an interest in anyone…and if she ever did, she hasn't remembered it yet." Brendan was glad Steven was listening so intently now; it was obvious that he really did care for her. "These reasons she gave me last night…I think it was a way for her to deny her own feelings. She told me more than once it didn't matter how she felt, because you would never like her anyway. Sonata never outright _denied _anything, though. I don't know if she has a little school girl crush on you or if she's starting to see you as a 'real man,' but I'm pretty sure she's feeling something positive."

"So you're saying…" Steven didn't dare speak his thoughts aloud, not when his heart was beating so quickly and his mind was racing with so many possibilities.

"What I _think_," Brendan emphasized strongly, "is that Sonata hasn't fully realized her feelings for you…and if anyone asks her about it or she notices that she's feeling a little funny about you, she tries to deny it with these silly facts. She's resorting to convincing herself that _not only_ does she not like you in that way, but also that you would never fall for her either."

"…and you understood all of this from talking with her yesterday night?" Steven asked with amazement, despite knowing that Brendan was just clarifying a hunch he had.

"I've been her best friend for a while. Sonata's not that hard to read since she still wears most of her emotions on her sleeve like a little kid." He chuckled at how he had randomly assumed a more mature position than her. "But we're entering a side of her even I've never seen before. So my part in this whole fiasco ends here!"

"…but…what am I supposed to—" Steven helplessly tried to ask.

"Remember Steven, I only told you what I think is going on. You two are gonna have to figure it out on your own!" Brendan stood up from his seat on the bench. "She asked me to come on the journey, but I told her no. This may be your last chance to put everything into action! After all, you guys are gonna have to end your traveling adventure sooner or later…she might end it on her own if what she's worried about comes true."

"What? Do you mean she's afraid of Team Tornado's threats?"

"No, Steven." Brendan responded with an exasperated sigh. "Team Tornado is the least of her worries."

"What else could she be frightened of?" Steven demanded in confusion, still dizzy from having been put through a coaster of emotions. He was frustrated at himself for not being able to see what Brendan had analyzed so clearly in just one night.

"She's convinced that _you_ would never fall for her." Brendan offered Steven a clue, but he only stared back with exhausted eyes, having heard the statement numerous times.

"She's afraid that instead, _she'll_ end up falling for you, Steven."


	17. Chapter 17

"I can't believe Brendan left without saying bye!" Sonata complained with a grumpy frown as she double-checked her bag. "Anyway, I think I have everything packed up and ready to go."

"He said he had to make it back to Littleroot before sunset, and you didn't wake up until half past 1…" Steven reasoned with a chuckle. "It _is_ you fault."

"I know, I know." She replied, acknowledging her frequent drowsiness as the enemy. "But I was really tired from the talk we had yesterday—" She abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence, not wanting Steven to know about what she had discussed with Brendan last night.

"…I see." Steven said simply, pretending to have no interest in the matter. He could tell she didn't want him to find out about it, even though Brendan had spilled the beans earlier. "Let's head out, then."

"Alright!" she chirped enthusiastically, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Where are we off to now?"

"As far as we can go."

And they were off, sometimes soaring through the clouds on their Skarmory and Charizard, sometimes trudging through winding routes on their own feet. The days got shorter and the nights grew longer as November dwindled away little by little. Brendan checked up on the two with a short Pokenav call every couple of days, usually to inform Steven and Sonata about the various news reports on Team Tornado's activities. And Steven began to take back some of his responsibilities at the company…by phoning his father in the mornings while Sonata snored away.

And so their journey continued.

"You were excited about this when we were walking through route 112…" Steven reminded her as the cable car they sat in moved steadily higher. They had decided to climb Mt. Chimney without putting in the effort to actually climb it. Plus, their Pokemon were eagerly awaiting the Lava Cookies sold by the old lady at the end of the cable car expedition.

"I-I know, b-but…" Sonata stuttered, peering through the windows to catch a glimpse of the mountain path below. "W-Wow!" she exclaimed with an uneasy smile.

"Are you alright?" Steven questioned. He wasn't quite sure if she was actually enjoying the ride or dreading it.

"I'm fine! It's pretty up here…I'm just not so g-good with heights when all that's holding us up is a c-cable…" she admitted nervously. Despite her fear, however, she remained gazing at the scenery outside with trembling hands. They were dangling so high in the air that the mountain trees had shrunk to resemble broccoli bits and the once towering cliffs could be measured with one hand. "M-Maybe we should have just flown u-up…"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." He assured her, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Steven watched as she continued to fiddle with her fingers. _Maybe I should hold her hand…just until the ride's over…_ he thought idly, then mentally slapped himself. Real gentlemen would never touch a lady without her permission! Besides, he was too chicken to even ask her.

But the ride was over before they knew it, and they headed for their next destination.

"Ah ha ha…it, er, sure feels nice." Sonata commented with an awkwardly placed laugh, struggling to relax in Lavaridge Town's hot springs with Steven just a few feet away. An elderly couple had been in the steaming waters for a while now, but the old man had recently started snoring. His wife simply shook her head and observed the stars and full moon. The night sky was even more beautiful here than back in Fallarbor.

"Y-Yes…I always did think they should have an area that separates the genders but…"

"At least we get to cover ourselves with these towels…" she mentioned, sinking down deeper until the waters reached her chin. She still felt a bit more secure this way, even though the towels were long enough to hide their stark nakedness past their knees.

"You young'ins! Did you come here to be embarrassed or to calm down after a long day?" the old lady suddenly snapped, making her way into their fading conversation. "Nothing wrong with showing some skin, haw haw!" she laughed loudly.

Steven and Sonata looked at her with wide eyes, unsure of how to react to her…enthusiasm.

"You! You're a man, are you not?" the old lady asked with raised eyebrows.

"Um, I am…"

"Then why are you covered up like a woman, hm?" she demanded, pointing at the portion of the towel that lay just below his neck. "I'll take care of that!" She lunged forward before Steven could utter a single word and pulled it down, revealing his chest for the world to see.

"AHHH!" Sonata shrieked, gripping onto her own covering and turning to the side.

"Calm your horses, little girl! A man should be proud of his upper body!" she croaked with a clearly amused chortle at Sonata's elementary reaction. "And boy, look at that! You work out, don't you sonny?"

"I-I, er, no—" he stammered madly, feeling rather sheepish because of Sonata's screams. He didn't think she would be so shocked; hadn't she ever seen guys with their chest out on the beach before?

"Haw haw, you youngsters are turning tomato-red, and I'm sure it's not because of the temperature of this here water!" the old lady teased, finding the conversation with them a lot more interesting than just sitting back and watching her husband sleep beside her in the springs. "Don't you whippersnappers know? Taking a dip in Lavaridge's hot springs brings relaxation, money, and romance!"

"Relaxation, money, and r-romance?" Steven repeated feebly as Sonata cowered in the corner.

"That's right!" the lady continued excitedly, her raspy but high-pitched laughter echoing in the night sky. "Whoever visits the hot springs here gets a bunch of luck according to the good ol' legends!"

And so they tried their luck at Mauville City's game corner a few days later, offering their purchased coins to the slot machines and roulettes. But it seemed as though the supposed "luck" the hot springs had given them was not for money after all. Steven and Sonata ended up spending all their gold coins and were left with nothing at the very end. After the stressful two hour gambling session, they rented a couple of bikes at Rydel's Cycles and rode through route 110, even battling a pair of biker trainers along the way.

"Oof, Beldum! You may be small but you're heavy!" Sonata giggled as the 200-pound pokemon leaned against her.

Steven and Sonata had returned their bicycles and were relaxing under one of the many trees along the walking path of route 110. They had let all their pokemon out of their pokeballs to roam around the fields and have some fun of their own. While everyone else had wandered farther off into the grass, Beldum remained close to Steven and Sonata's sides. Time that day had passed rather quickly, and the two were once again gazing at the sun slowly disappearing behind the orange clouds. The calming sounds of the flowing river in the horizon took over the silence in the air.

"…did you have fun today?" Steven asked idly, watching as Sonata gave Beldum a nice pat on its head.

"Always do!" she chirped back, turning her head to face him instead.

He caught a hold of her eyes and found himself suddenly smiling a bit more than he was just a few seconds ago.

"What's so funny?" Sonata asked, offering him a grin of her own. He was giving her such a peculiar look that she couldn't help but begin to turn pink. "Stop it, you're making me blush!" she told him, playing off her burning cheeks as another joke.

"Sorry…I just…your eyes…" he mumbled without thinking straight. He only realized what he had uttered after Sonata awkwardly cleared her throat and offered up a hesitant laugh. "Er, I mean…I…" Steven began, attempting to glaze over the mistake he had made with a change in topic.

Sonata's Charizard chose to swoop down upon them at that moment, landing a few feet away with a loud thump. The dragon glanced over at the pair before curling up in the patches of grass with the most fading sunlight.

"Your Charizard…where did you get her? They aren't found in the Hoenn region…" Steven asked weakly, grasping onto whatever he could.

"Oh, well, I moved to Hoenn from Kanto." She responded quickly, excited to tell him the tale of her encounters with her many pokemon. "One of my mom's old friends had a bunch of eggs from the daycare center, and we got two as good-bye presents."

"And one of those eggs hatched into a Charmander, I presume?"

"That's right! The egg took a while to hatch…I had already received Treecko from Professor Birch and started off on my journey before Charmander joined the team. I had to carry around the egg like it was a little baby." She tapped her chin thoughtfully as she remembered the old days; or at least, what her friends and relatives had told her since the ferry accident. She recalled a good chunk of this part of her adventure though, especially the parts where she met the permanent members of her team.

"What did the other egg hatch into?" Steven inquired, although he already had a pretty good idea of Sonata's answer.

"Pidgey!" she squealed at the memory of the small bird that had emerged from the scattered pieces of broken eggshell. "Pidgey's egg was actually my mom's. She was so small…I think she was even smaller than the wild Pidgey in Kanto. She hatched pretty early on, right after we had finished moving in all our stuff. But she was so weak…my mom called me in the middle of my journey once Pidgey was strong enough to fly around on her own, and I've trained with her since then."

The stories continued, and Steven sat and listened to every word. He had never realized how little he actually knew about Sonata, despite having spent so much time with her not only in the past, but in the present as well. He absorbed all of the warm emotions she expressed to him until the sun was no longer keeping them company.

The following day led them further down the route to Slateport City and its famous market. For some reason, there were more stands set up than usual, and a great number of customers had already flooded the cobblestone streets despite it still being relatively early in the morning. A man dressed in a blue apron was handing out fliers at the entrance to the market road, his energetic voice cutting through the lively noise in the air.

"Slateport Market's Annual Weekend Bazaar! Once a year only, folks! And today's the last day! Huge selection of goods from all regions! Unbeatable sale prices! Get 'em while you can!"

Sonata eagerly took a flier and looked at the rough map of the market.

"Wow, they really are selling everything!" she exclaimed as her eyes scanned over the long list of categories and stand numbers.

"Is there anything you want in particular?" Steven asked as casually as possible, though he could feel his pulse quicken with each word he spoke to her. "I mean…I'll purchase something for you if you happen to be short on cash."

"Steven, I'm _always_ short on cash." She replied sarcastically, oblivious to his attempts at discreetly wooing her. "But you don't have to buy me anything, don't worry!"

They ventured into the bazaar, squeezing through crowds of excited shoppers and lively stand workers. They saw the most colorful assortment of berries, starting with big wooden carts of the typical oran berry and ranging to the oddly shaped rowap berries. There were multiple trainers gathered around the group of stands selling a variety of new TMs and vitamin items. A smaller stand selling herbal medicines had just as many people offering up their cash. A line of stands representing the local, blue-roofed pokemart had the regular, everyday items up for sale, but at half the price. Pokeballs of all types and colors were set on display in glass cases, each with a short description of their special attributes. Next to them was a line of fancy seals for special 3-D effects.

Apricots all the way from the Johto region, hand-blown glass flutes, sparkling shards from shores of beaches and underground hunts, and gems from Unova were receiving intrigued stares and curiosity-driven purchases. Younger children were begging their parents for limited edition pokedolls, while contest specific trainers carefully observed displays of accessories and props for the next big show. Steven himself took a bit of an interest in the area selling evolutionary stones. Even a few fossils were up for sale, their dusty figures proudly on display in a tall, antique case. He took his eyes off Sonata for a split second to appreciate the polished rocks, then turned back to see her nowhere in sight.

"Uh oh…" he whispered to himself, desperately searching through the flood of faces passing by him. "I should just call her…" he reasoned, reaching for his pokenav.

"Steven! Is that you?" a voice called from a few feet away. It was strong for a woman, yet held an air of elegance; he immediately recognized who was in an instant.

"Cynthia?"

"It is you! What are you doing here of all places?" She appeared before him, her long blonde hair cascading down her back and her black coat fluttering in the light breeze with each step she took. She still carried that powerful aura that Steven admired with just her presence. Her gray eyes twinkled fondly as she observed him up and down. "You haven't changed much in appearance, I see." She commented with a chuckle.

"I've been traveling around since I got back to Hoenn." He explained succinctly with a smile. "Why did you leave Sinnoh?"

"I had some business here in Hoenn a few days ago. I happened to hear about this bazaar happening, so I decided to stay for just a bit longer, you know, so I could see what all the rage was about." Cynthia brushed back her bangs and tilted her head. "I didn't think you'd be the type to come out to such a crowded place though, Steven. You always liked being in quiet areas…you usually preferred being alone, if I remember correctly."

"I still do." He admitted with a shrug. "I just happened to enter Slateport City during the event. We had no idea the bazaar was happening."

"We? Are you here with a friend, then?" she asked with an amused look, catching onto his slip of words. "You and I have never even spent time in a place half as busy as this one…"

"…yes, I'm here with someone." Steven looked away but continued to speak. "She…enjoys places like these."

"She? You're here with a woman?" Cynthia blinked in surprise. "Well, well. Where is the lucky lady?"

"It's nothing like that. I just lost her, actually." He said with a weak laugh. "I was about to call her when you yelled out my name."

"I'm sorry for interrupting, then." She responded with a laugh of her own. "You're implying that she's just a friend, but is she really? You're being awfully careful with your words."

"…hm…am I?" he mumbled, trying to ignore her smooth-voiced accusations. He returned his focus to finding Sonata, and moved his hand towards his pocket for his pokenav.

"Steven." Cynthia reached forward and gently grabbed his hand. "I know this is awfully sudden but…it's been a while…why don't we spend some time together? There are more peaceful paths surrounding the city, much quieter than here. I'm sure your friend will be fine without you for an hour or so."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline." He lightly brushed her away and took out the device from his pocket. "I really should find her."

"And why is that?" she inquired with an air of hidden frustration. "I realize it's none of my business, but you said so yourself she's merely a friend."

"She is." He opened his pokenav and scrolled down until he reached the 'S' section of names.

"Then why are you suddenly being so stubborn? Slateport may be a large city, but I highly doubt this friend will be helplessly lost without you. She must be perfectly capable of remembering things on her own."

Steven stopped before his finger could confirm the call to Sonata. "Why are you doing this?" he asked suddenly, his tone startlingly cold.

"…I was only asking for some of your time." She informed him with hesitation, taking note of his change in attitude. "There's no need to be so sensitive about it. We haven't gotten together in a while and I simply thought—"

"You were the one who ended our relationship, Cynthia."

"…I know. But I've had a lot of time to think…and things have changed—"

"Yes, they have." Steven said firmly.

"Is asking for an hour of your time really too much?" she demanded, her eyes flashing with disbelief at his frigid responses. "Steven, I—"

Their debate was interrupted by a loud ringing. Steven looked down to see the name "Sonata" in bright blue letters flashing on his pokenav's screen. He quickly put the device to his ear and was met with her loud voice before he could even say "hello."

"Hey, where did you go?"

"Sorry, I was just about to call you. I'm over by the stands selling evolutionary stones and fossils. Where did you disappear to?"

"Doesn't matter, I'll be right there! Wait up, okay?"

"Wait, Sonata—"

She hung up before he could protest.

"…that name sounds awfully familiar." Cynthia commented with a hint of bitterness as Steven put away his pokenav. She had definitely heard it a few times somewhere before.

"She was the champion of this region a few years back." Steven answered nonchalantly, wishing for Sonata's quick arrival.

"Yes, of course!" she exclaimed with a small gasp, realizing who the girl was. "Wallace did tell me about his defeat. You know, Steven, I never really understood why you quit. Wallace always did say you were more talented than he was at battling." She continued, trying to brighten up the situation.

Steven remained silent as he waited, wondering why Sonata was taking so long to show up. Had she really gotten lost?

"Of course, Wallace is a great trainer himself, and so are Hoenn's elite four. But if you were still the final trainer left to battle, I'm sure your friend wouldn't have been able to become champion so easily—"

"She defeated me as well, Cynthia." He finally spoke, unable to stay wordless at her misled ramblings.

"…did she? She must be very special, then." She crossed her arms and sighed, seeing that their conversation was going nowhere, despite her attempts to get along with the man she could once discuss absolutely anything with. "I suppose I'm only being an annoyance to you at this moment…but I really would have liked it if we could have spent some time together today."

She waited for a reaction, but he seemed intent on playing mute.

"The old Steven would have said yes, I'm sure of it. But I guess things really have changed, even if you are wearing the same suit…" She stepped closer to him and held out her hand. "I made a mistake in the past with my decision…but now it's too late to go back. Regardless, it was nice running into you."

He took her hand and shook it lightly. He hated how he was still affected by her words, even if it was only slightly. He no longer had feelings left for her, but she was nevertheless evoking a different bundle of emotions inside him.

"I'm sorry." He replied with genuine sorrow for both himself and the disappointed woman before him.

"I am as well." She leaned in and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Startled, he jumped back, his eyes wide with confusion. She smiled brightly at his reaction, tickled at how greatly he had actually changed from the Steven she once knew. Cynthia began her walk in the opposite direction as he straightened out his stance in preparation for Sonata's arrival.

"Good luck, Steven."


	18. Chapter 18

_RING! RING! RING!_

Steven hurriedly answered his pokenav for the second time.

"Sonata! Where are you? It's been over 10 minutes—"

"I'm fine, Steven! But I think I'm gonna go look around some more on my own…let's just meet up later, okay?" she suggested in an awfully animated voice.

"Sure…but are you sure you're feeling alright?" he asked immediately, taking notice of how overly cheerful her tone was. "You sound really—"

"I'm good! There's just so much stuff to see! I'll call you later!"

Once again she hung up before he could say anything more. Confused but content with knowing that she would be fine on her own, Steven sighed with relief. Cynthia was long gone by now, and Sonata was off browsing to her heart's content. He did want to look around the bazaar with Sonata, but she seemed pretty excited without his company. After a few more minutes of idly standing around and wondering what he should do to pass the time, he finally shifted over to the fossil display and engaged in conversation with the owner of the stand.

_(.scene change.)_

"You really like the beach, don't you Beldum?" Sonata giggled as her pokemon rolled around in the golden sand.

The two were relaxing in the small beach area just beyond Slateport City and right at the start of route 109. They had taken refuge under one of the many giant, brightly colored parasols sticking out from the ground. The bazaar had attracted many people, and those who had had their fair share of shopping had come to take a walk around the cold waves and through the warm sand. Sonata had entered the tiny section of paradise right before making her second call to Steven, choosing to get away from the bustling stands and instead hide away near the ocean. The beach was almost as crowded as the marketplace, but she felt more at ease under the shade of the parasol, surrounded by laughing children.

Beldum looked up at her with its single red eye.

"I know, I know. You wanted to look at the fossils." She laughed when Beldum did a little dance in mid-air as its response. "Sorry for dragging you here instead…I just didn't expect to see Steven with someone…"

She lay down on the spare blanket and stretched. "He did tell me he's dated other women before, so I don't know why I was so startled. I should've just gone up and said hi to both of them…but I didn't want to intrude either…" Beldum snuggled up next to her arm, accidentally carrying over some sand onto the fabric. Sonata took no notice, however, and continued speaking more so to the sky than her little buddy.

"What am I so caught up on anyway? It was just a kiss. A kiss on his cheek. It didn't look serious…and even if it was, why should it matter? He's dated other women before…he could still be dating one now…yeah…" Sonata let out a deep breath and turned towards Beldum.

"You were there with me, what do you think? Did they look like a couple?" she asked, knowing very well that Beldum was a silent pokemon and would therefore be unable to vocalize its thoughts on such a complicated matter.

"She was pretty." Sonata stated after much thought. She lifted up her arms and moved her hands towards the heavens. The sunlight from outside the parasol's shade caught onto her ring, causing it to glint as if it were just as royal as a diamond. She sensed that uneasy feeling in her stomach again, and quickly put her hands back down to avoid glancing at the silver band.

She was suddenly feeling very drowsy. It was the middle of autumn, after all, the season of laziness. Plus, she had gotten up early to reach Slateport, and then spent a bunch of her strength maneuvering through the flocks of shoppers. The sun was bright but not too intense, and the sound of the waves over all the commotion was calming.

_(.scene change.)_

"It's been over two hours…I wonder why she hasn't called yet." Steven checked his pokenav again, just in case he had missed her. But there were no notifications on his device.

"Who are yee waitin' for?" the fossil seller questioned.

"Oh, my friend was supposed to contact me after she was done looking around…"

"She, you say? Ladies are neva done with their shoppin' my boy." He chortled loudly. "Anywho, she's probably still lookin' amongst these stands. It takes us guys twentee-minutes at most at this here bazaar, but girls be rackin' up at least 4 big ones."

"_Four_ hours?" Steven inquired incredulously. "Do they really?"

"That's right! My wife takes even mo' than that, so consider yeeself lucky!"

Steven bid the man farewell and exited the marketplace. His fantasy of buying Sonata anything she took a liking to was impossible since she was nowhere to be seen. He supposed he could just give her a quick call to check up with her, but in a calmer place. Cynthia was right about one thing; Steven wasn't a big fan of crazy areas. It was proving rather difficult to find an isolated corner since the bazaar had attracted so many visitors. There were more people than usual walking through the streets and observing Slateport's buildings. He finally stumbled upon a quieter clearing within the edges of the city and was just about to flip open his pokenav when a series of loud shouts caught his attention.

"Oh no! Get back here, you vile man!"

"Beat it lady, no one's here to save your pathetic pokemon! Out of my way!"

"Somebody! Please!"

Steven could clearly see two figures in the distance. One was obviously a plump, middle-aged woman, and the other was what appeared to be a regular trainer dragging something heavy against the ground. Steven ran up to the pair and quickly realized that the man was no ordinary trainer, despite his fairly normal attire. An unconscious Altaria lay defeated within the net the strange man was attempting to flee with. He glared instantly at Steven before declaring his rights.

"Listen up! We were having a nice little battle, and this lady here lost, you got it? But she doesn't even have enough money to pay me for my victory, so it's only fair that I get her Altaria!"

"That's absolutely ridiculous! I'll pay you if this is a money issue—" Steven began, but the man snarled impatiently and began moving forward. "You can't just steal another trainer's pokemon! I won't allow it!"

"Shut it! You can't stop me with your little preach!" He suddenly stopped in his tracks and reached for a pokeball hanging from his belt. "Why don't I take you on, too? You don't look so tough…" There was a flash of red light and a particularly angry looking Dragonite landed between the man and Steven.

"Dragonite? This can't be a coincidence…you work for Team Tornado!"

"Now, now, you aren't as stupid as I thought." Steven's opponent sniggered, then immediately burst into an attack without warning. "Thunderbolt!"

The electric attack was met with the appearance of Metagross' hard shell. The pokemon had materialized just in time and had readily taken the jolt without much damage. The man's eyes widened with shock as Metagross charged forward with the move take down and ran Dragonite into the concrete ground. He remained on the floor, his wings facing downwards and his eyes closed tight.

"What the hell is this?! How could you have defeated my Dragonite with one hit?!"

"Why is Team Tornado stealing pokemon? How does that relate to Rayquaza?" Steven demanded just as furiously as Metagross took a step closer to the enemy, shaking the earth around them.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you're causing me way too much trouble. I don't have to deal with this!" The man quickly held out his pokeball and his Dragonite disappeared. He jumped onto his second pokemon, a Fearow that emerged with its wings already spread and set to fly, and sped off into the sky before Steven could get any information out of him.

"Oh, thank you so much! I didn't know he was a robber! He had asked for battle and seemed friendly enough…" the lady explained between dry sobs. "We decided to battle here since there was more space and no bystanders…what a huge mistake…"

"It's no problem at all. How is your Altaria?"

"She's a little roughed up, but the pokemon center will fix her right up. Come here, darling." The lady pushed away the net and managed to return her pokemon to her pokeball. "Thank you again, young man!"

Steven smiled in return and was about to walk off when she clapped her hands once, apparently coming to realize something that had been bothering her for a while.

"Oh, I knew you looked awfully familiar! You're Steven Stone! My eldest daughter was planning on challenging you and the elite four many years ago. She never got past the 7th badge, though." The lady explained with enthusiasm.

"Is that so? Why did she stop at the 7th badge?" he inquired, a little curious as to what had happened to the girl who was so close to getting all 8 badges.

"You'll laugh when you hear this! She fell in love with another trainer on the road, and they were both so distracted from getting to the league that they eventually gave up on the whole 'becoming a master' plan."

_(.scene change.)_

"…ugh…hello…?" Sonata mumbled into her pokenav, having just awoken from her nap.

"Sonata! Why didn't you pick up sooner? I've called you so many times!" Steven's panic-stricken voice filled her ears.

"…you did? Sorry…I fell…asleep…" she answered slowly, fighting the urge to yawn as she attempted to get him to calm down. "I'm fine…"

"Where are you?" he implored with just as much worry as before.

"Hm…? Oh…uh…the beach—"

"I'll be right there, don't go anywhere!"

She heard the faint click of Steven hanging up. Beldum was snoozing next to her, its eye shut tight. Sonata lazily rubbed her eyes and managed to sit up straight, though her posture was still sluggish. She returned Beldum to its pokeball and glanced around the beach. It definitely wasn't as crowded as before, but it was still the middle of the day, and there were plenty of people enjoying their time. She had barely finished scanning the different faces when a familiar man entered her field of vision, a clearly un-amused expression plastered on his face.

"I thought you were going to look around the bazaar!" he accused her right off the bat, breathing heavily from having run to where she was.

"Yeah, well…" she said uncertainly, looking up at the inside of the parasol. "Why are you so mad? I just fell asleep at the beach…"

"I ran into someone that worked for Team Tornado a while ago. I called to make sure you were alright, but you didn't pick up until the 12th time!" he said exasperatedly despite Sonata's relaxed demeanor.

"Team Tornado? Was it that woman from last time?" she asked with a surge of curiosity.

"No…I guess he was a lower ranking member since his Dragonite was a lot weaker…and he wasn't wearing a uniform…he also wasn't very bright at handling the situation…" Steven mulled over his thoughts before starting on his lecture again. "Anyway, I understand that you didn't realize I was calling because you were napping. But why did you say you were going to look around when you came here instead?"

"I dunno, I got tired." She responded curtly, obviously trying to avoid answering Steven's question.

"I don't believe you." He said simply, taking a seat beside her. "I was so worried something had happened to you…and you can't even tell me why you changed your mind and left the bazaar?" Concern had pushed away his annoyance, and he had now taken a gentler tone.

She groaned after hearing his words, covering up her embarrassment with feigned frustration. "…I didn't want to bother you and your friend."

"My friend…? You saw Cynthia?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to intrude so I wandered off."

"…intrude?" he repeated. If she had only seen them conversing with each other, Sonata wouldn't have made the effort to avoid him. "…are you talking about the kiss?" he suggested, realizing that there was no doubt she had witnessed it from afar.

She nodded, then quickly took on an awkwardly happier tone to try and convince Steven that it wasn't such a big deal. "She was really pretty."

"You think so?" he said simply, more focused on her unusual way of speaking. She seemed uncomfortable discussing the matter but appeared intent on proving otherwise.

"Yeah! She was tall, and her hair was long, and her clothes looked super fancy." She casually pointed out.

"Fancy clothes?" Steven chuckled at her silly reasons. "Well, Cynthia _is_ the champion in Sinnoh, so she does have a fancier wardrobe."

"The _champion_?! You're dating the champion of the Sinnoh region?!" Sonata shouted in complete surprise, kicking up some sand by accident as she sat up straighter.

"I used to. We're not seeing each other anymore." Steven informed her abruptly, seeing where the conversation was headed. "And that kiss from before, that wasn't anything either. She just…she was just saying goodbye."

"Uh-huh…" Sonata murmured, unsure of how to respond to such a vague comment. "That's…nice…"

"We broke up years ago…we ran into each other by chance. There's really nothing between us." He insisted again, wondering what sort of judgment Sonata was deeming upon him in her head.

"Don't worry, I believe you." She said with a quizzical look. "Why are you acting so worried about it? It's fine either way." Her voice cracked ever so slightly at her last statement, and Steven noticed.

"…is it really? You don't feel anything? You don't care if I'm in a relationship with another woman?"

"W-What? What are you saying?" She blushed instantly at his series of questions and looked at her bare feet. "It's not like I control who you go out with…"

"That's not what I'm…Sonata…please look at me." Steven asked her gently, his heartbeat accelerating.

He knew he would have to tell her sooner or later, but he didn't expect the moment to come at such a random day. Still, the Cynthia encounter and the kiss bothered him immensely. Not only had Sonata seen that very last moment, but she had chosen to run away rather than innocently ask him about it. It was extremely unlike her to suddenly avoid him, and on top of that, she had retreated and lied without much remorse. He couldn't help but think that she must have felt some sort of negative emotion strong enough to make her behave strangely, despite her neutral words. He doubted it was something as trivial as anger at the sight of another companion. But could she have been…jealous? As bad as it sounded, he secretly hoped that unease and envy were the reasons for her overly bland facade of not caring.

She hesitantly lifted up her head up at his request, but kept her eyes focused on a point below his face. The sudden intimacy of his tone had caught her off guard, and she didn't trust herself to stay in one piece if she were to lock eyes with him. Just his voice was making her exceptionally skittish at the moment, but she didn't anticipate what was coming next.

"I'm sorry it's taken me years to realize it…but I…I've always liked you as more than a friend." He leaned forward and touched her chin, causing her to finally look up at him directly, though she did jolt back at the contact.

"Y-You…" she faintly whispered, unable to utter much more due to her mind going blank. He had always liked her? _The_ Steven Stone had admired her from afar?

"When we first met, I only thought of you as a skilled trainer. But I enjoyed battling alongside you…and eventually I realized I did have some feelings for you. I wasn't sure how serious they were, especially since you were younger…I ignored the joy I felt when I happened to run into you during your journey. I dated other women, like Cynthia, but I always thought of you once in a while." He was surprised at how easy it was, and how alleviating it was, to explain how his emotions had developed for her. "I thought it would be over once I traveled out of Hoenn and into the rest of the world, but I only began recalling your face more often than before."

He paused briefly to take a deep breath as Sonata sat before him, blinking in silence.

"Years passed…I knew I would have to return with the research I had done, and my pokemon had done plenty of training abroad as well. But more importantly than that, I knew I couldn't deny what I had been feeling any longer…and I had decided to confess to you as soon as I could see you in person. But then…Brendan told me about the ferry accident…and you didn't remember me at all…I didn't know what to do, but I knew I had to do something."

"…t-traveling together…" she mumbled weakly for the first time since the beginning of Steven's monologue.

"It was to get your memory of me back at first, but I realized that you're still Sonata even without all of your memories. The same Sonata I fell for all those years ago…"

Despite being unaware of her current thoughts, warmth took over his once distressed inner state. He had finally declared all that he could; a wave of relief washed over the bottled up, heated nervousness he had struggled with before. He had never really "confessed" in such a way to the women in his past. Their relationships had begun rather straight-forwardly; if he found her interesting and pleasant to be around, he simply asked her out on a date. But with Sonata, it was almost as if he had to work up the courage to convey his feelings, similar to how high school kids would pass each other secret notes and wait until Valentine's Day to take action. In fact, the Butterfree in his stomach were reminiscent of typical first love scenarios; he couldn't recall having gotten so worked up when he was with Cynthia or Elesa.

He could see she was still troubled. Steven took and held the hand with the ring. She didn't pull away but remained motionless.

"…well?" he asked lightly.

"…I…I don't know." Sonata whispered in a barely audible voice.

There was still doubt in her tone. But why? He had told her how he felt, yet she was still expressing uncertainty instead of a flat out yes or no. She was still mulling over something, and once again he had no idea what it was. Would Brendan have known? Steven quickly tried to erase that thought and return his focus to Sonata. This was about only him and her. His hand was still with hers, their fingers touching. He grasped her more firmly, not wanting to lose her in this moment.

She twitched at his strength but returned the gesture.

Her touch gave him the sudden urge to get closer. Logic and thought had disappeared as he drifted towards her face, the little space between them growing smaller with each second. He closed his eyes and leaned lower to match her lips. His nose brushed against hers, but the next thing he was greeted by was the lonely sea breeze and a shout of surprise from Sonata. Her scent was gone along with her touch, and when he opened his eyes again he realized that she had retreated back before their mouths could meet. Both her hands were now in her lap and she appeared to be frozen with shock at what had almost occurred, her cheeks puffed up and red, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking and I just…" He gulped, unable to provide a reasonable excuse for his previous behavior. His heart had started racing again.

She nodded her head, but spoke no words.

"You don't have to give me an answer now…but I'll be waiting." It took everything in him to keep his voice from shattering from nerves.

"…alright."


	19. Chapter 19

Sonata's father had bought her many fairytale movies and books when she was younger. Like most other small girls, she had once spent her early childhood days singing princess songs and stumbling around in her mother's heels. She had grown out of that phase rather quickly, of course, but she had never really gotten over the idea of true love.

She always insisted that finding a boyfriend was a waste of time simply because she wasn't interested in lovey-dovey happenings.

But how lovely it _would_ be if she were to somehow find a _true_ love! Not just a good-looking boy to develop a playful crush on, but a love that would last forever and a day. The kind of love she had read about in those fairytale picture books. She didn't want to go through trials and errors, didn't want to share passionate kisses with different boys until the flames died down, didn't want to open her heart to whoever decided to cradle it for a few months then call it off. It was normal for everyone else to do so; to experience and to break up and to learn from the whole process they called searching for "the one."

But to her it all seemed a bit pointless. A crush was a crush, nothing more than that. She had run into fellows she thought attractive, but that didn't mean a relationship was next on the menu. As silly as it sounded, Sonata still held onto the small hope of finding a real life equivalent to her knight in shining armor. Not someone who was perfect, but someone who she longed for _so_ dearly, that all his flaws would only add to his charm.

And so, she felt no need for a passing relationship in life. She was content with waiting until her "prince charming showed up." Someone she knew would be her first and her last.

But she was wary of Steven. She hadn't expected Brendan's taunts to actually be the truth. What worried her most was the possibility that this truth wouldn't remain real for long. Steven did tell her he had liked her for years, but any man with the intention of winning over a woman could say such words. Besides this feeling of doubt, there was no denying that he was intelligent, powerful, rich, and successful. He could easily let her go at any moment and elope with a lady of higher class. Sonata was clumsy and naïve, much too childish for a man of his caliber.

But why did she sit there and listen to his whole speech if she believed it too good to be true? Why did she let him get so close to her? Close enough to hear his breathing, close enough to feel his nose bump into hers…

She was terrified to let herself fall for him. What if he wasn't the one?

"…are you okay?"

His voice snapped her back to reality. She nervously glanced around the beach before answering his call.

"I'm fine." She was finding it extremely difficult to avoid making eye contact with him.

"You've been quiet for a while now…" He cleared his throat and pulled at his red collar scarf. "Why don't we…er…"

Steven racked his brain, trying to come up with a simple suggestion. But he had never been in a situation so awkward and tense before. Sonata didn't seem to notice his hesitation as she idly played with her fingers in an attempt to keep her focus away from him. He frowned as he thought back to how naturally it had come to him when he had made advancements on his previous girlfriends. Why was he so out of it when it came to Sonata?

"Look, Steven." She gulped after saying his name aloud, but continued with a dash of strength still remaining in her voice. "Thanks for…uh, telling me about everything…and traveling with me…it was really fun, and I've really gotten so much closer to you…"

He stared at her silently, dreading her next words. With what she had said in particular so far, there was no doubt in his mind that she would…

"I think…I think I need to go back home." She stated sort of firmly, wondering if that really was the best decision to make.

"…I see. Alright." He had told her that he would give her time for an answer, and so he would. His stomach sank nevertheless, and he could barely offer her one of his smiles when he finally caught her eyes.

As if on cue, she immediately looked away. "I'm s-sorry." She stuttered with pink cheeks, unable to stop the heat from rising up to her face.

It had taken them a couple of hours longer than it should have to reach Littleroot by flight. The winds had picked up soon after they had departed Slateport, reminding the region that despite the strong sunlight, it was indeed the chilly autumn season. The sun was already setting when Skarmory and Charizard landed in front of Sonata's house, and the little warmth that it had provided was slowly vanishing with each minute that ticked by. He took a good look at the view around him, never having been in Sonata's hometown before. Littleroot's small, quaint houses and its humble dirt paths reminded Steven of the girl standing before him. She was just as simple as the town she came from, but that was what he liked about her.

"Thanks for flying all the way here with me." She idly stood in place as he nodded in response.

"Make sure to be careful, you know, with Team Tornado and everything." He instructed sternly, attempting to cover up the awkward atmosphere with genuine concern for other matters.

"I will." She said simply, providing no other words of assurance.

"And call me if you're in any trouble." He added quickly.

"I'm not a baby, Steven." She told him with one of her usual sarcastic little tones. He brightened up at the sound of her familiar teasing, but knew it was his time to leave.

"Just promise me you'll call if anything happens."

"…I promise." She said finally, giving him a farewell grin that let him know she was still the same Sonata, despite the tensions since his confession.

"I'll see you soon. Stay safe." Her expression caused little flutters in his chest again. Even though he would have to say bye for now, Steven was still enamored with even her silly smile.

He took the chance to swiftly brush back her bangs and place a gentle kiss on her forehead. Eyes wide and face red, she jumped back on instinct, and landed against the front door of her house with a small "eep!" Steven waved as she continued to blankly stare at the man in disbelief. He swiftly got onto his Skarmory and sped off into the orange skies, leaving Sonata to trudge indoors in fit of embarrassment and shock. She had murmured a brief greeting to her mother as she dashed past the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. She jumped onto her bed and buried her face in her Treecko doll, concentrating on the soft green fabric.

"Sonata!" her mother announced grandly as she burst open the door to her room without knocking. "Don't just hide away in here as soon as you get back! How was your trip?"

"Good." The stuffed plush was preventing her from saying much else, not that she was in the mood to recall the crazy happenings she had gone through that day.

"Mmm." Her mother tapped her roughly on the head until she reluctantly put the doll aside and looked up. "Why don't you let your pokemon out to play? They must be bored, being trapped in their pokeballs all the time!"

Sonata sat up and searched through her half-open messenger bag. Her six pokemon appeared with the usual flashes of red light as her mother clapped in delight.

"Go on and relax out there." Sonata ushered them out of her room, but Pidgeot ruffled his feathers indignantly and plopped himself in the corner, apparently preferring solitude and rest indoors.

"I'm here to talk if you need it, dear." Her mother was concerned, but she knew her daughter was no longer a child and would seek advice herself if she needed it. She patted Sonata's shoulder before heading out. She stopped before closing the door shut, remembering a certain boy who could lift up anyone's spirits. "Why don't you go see Brendan? He came by a few days ago and was wondering when you would be back in Littleroot and free to get together."

_(.scene change.)_

"Awww, Sonata! He must be heartbroken!"

"But…he's…what I'm trying to say is," Sonata replied, taking a deep breath, "Steven will probably get over me in a day."

"Oh, come on." Brendan stuck his fork in the air as he made his point. "Give yourself some more credit. It'll take him _at least_ two days."

"Brendan!" she scolded jokingly, picking at the leftover greens on her plate. She let out a small sigh as she slid the boiled broccoli back and forth.

"But seriously, Sonata. I mean, I did know about his crush on you, but from what you've told me tonight, this guy has been in love with you for _five _years! Which is pretty commendable, although also slightly creepy because that means he's had the hots for you since you were underage—"

"_Brendan!_" she exclaimed once more, almost dropping her silverware.

He burst into laughter at her expression of shock. "Don't tell me you haven't realized this before?"

"I-I haven't really thought about the numbers in detail, now that you mention it…"

"Anyway, that's not what's important here!" He shoved the last of his dinner into his mouth and chewed like a rabid Munchlax.

"Can we get the check, please?" Sonata asked a passing waiter as Brendan struggled to swallow everything.

"The fact is, you didn't reject him when you had the chance!" he finally said after cleaning his plate.

"He said he would wait for my answer—" she began defiantly.

"I know, but if you _really_ didn't have any feelings for him, you would have just let him go right then and there! Yet, here we are, sitting at a local diner, chugging down soda and discussing your love dilemma." He stated matter-of-factly, wiping his mouth with a stray napkin.

"It's not a love dilemma." She retorted childishly, unable to explain her own mixed emotions and the reason for her foolish decision to keep Steven waiting. "But…I guess you're right. I'll call him now and tell him we should just be friends—"

"Don't do that!" He lunged across the table and seized the pokenav in her hand. "You should take some time to actually think about how you feel. I know you're nervous, but that doesn't mean you should suddenly give him a random call and reject him over the phone!"

"But Brendan—" she protested half-heartedly, reaching for her pokenav hesitantly.

"You didn't say no to him right away, Sonata. That must mean you're feeling _something_." He placed the device on the table next to her plate, but she didn't grab for it this time. "I know this isn't really any of my business, but think this through before you give him an answer."

She gave him a defeated nod.

"And eat your vegetables, will you?" he chuckled.

_(.scene change.)_

"Mr. Stone, here are the reports of Team Tornado attacks and Team Tornado related information you've requested." The office lady handed over a small assortment of folders as she explained what they contained. "The first known Team Tornado scuffle was around five years ago."

Steven flipped to the first page in the packets and examined the exact date. "…only a few months after the Groudon and Kyogre incident. But it wasn't widely known of at that time, and it still isn't."

"Yes. The attempted kidnapping of the Swablu was dealt with by citizens in the area, so no there are no official police records. It seems that people had just assumed that the man in the costume had just gone crazy, or was working as an independent thief."

"Green cape, dark boots and gloves, the T-shaped insignia…" Steven observed, reading through the short description of the scene and those involved. "…there is no doubt that he's a part of Team Tornado."

"It would appear so. In addition, there is reason to suspect that some members of Team Tornado may have formally been a part of Team Aqua and Team Magma."

"So we were able to find more photos, then?" he inquired with a slight frown. "Alright, thank you, that will be all for today. Please dismiss everyone else from work as well."

The lady bowed and curtly left. Steven walked back to his desk and spread out the papers across the surface. He had spent the past three nights researching, along with doing his usual Devon corporation duties during the day. He had to keep Sonata safe, and at the same time, the information gave him something else to focus on. He was running on only a few hours of sleep per day, not that he could sleep very soundly anyway since his parting with the girl.

The research he and his co-workers had done painted a similar scenario to the crimes that Team Magma and Team Aqua had committed before. From what he could see, Team Tornado was basically a reincarnation of the two teams, but with new members, a new leader, and a new focus. Groudon and Kyogre were powerless when it came to Rayquaza's wrath, and as the woman who had attacked him and his friends before had stated, it was Team Tornado's intention to use Rayquaza's strength instead of the two lesser legendaries. But they had searched for years in vain, and unable to find out the dragon's precise location, they resorted to assembling strong flying type pokemon from all across Hoenn. This meant stealing from trainers, rather than catching the weaker ones that wandered in the wild.

But operations had started moving at a terribly slow pace since some had left the organization, realizing that Rayquaza's location would not be revealed anytime soon. Steven noted that at some point, lower-ranking members must have been stripped of their uniforms as well, remembering the attempted kidnapping of the Altaria back in Slateport. That would explain why reports on Team Tornado related occurrences were decreasing but the group still remained stable enough to cause trouble. He would have to create a chart of some sort depicting the frequencies and timing of Team Tornado sightings to get a clearer picture of how busy their operations had been since they formed. But for now, he had a good idea of what to expect from them.

Steven turned on his pokenav and opened up the messaging system after selecting Sonata's name. He began typing under the dim light of the shade lamp standing off to the side of his office. After some minutes of rapid clicking, he gathered up everything else needed, and locked up the building. Once again, he had spent far too long cooped up at Devon. Although his father's house was only a short walk away, he had only managed to stumble in right before the large grandfather clock in the living room struck four. He needed to wash up and look over some paperwork that was actually related to the company before going in again for official work at 9:00 AM sharp. He had missed far too much business during his days with Sonata.

He stepped out of the shower moments later, silver hair down and still damp. As Steven used up his few remaining hours on Devon work, he couldn't help but occasionally glance over at his pokenav, which lay between the folds of his rumpled suit on his bed. It was silly of him to keep checking for the blue light of the screen since he had sent his message at a ridiculous time. But he still hoped she would reply soon.


End file.
